


The Heartless Chronicles

by TheTimeTraveler24



Series: The Sum of Our Choices [10]
Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Book 5: The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus), Companion Piece, F/M, Gen, Kinda, M/M, POV Piper, The Sum of Our Choices universe, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:49:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28883445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTimeTraveler24/pseuds/TheTimeTraveler24
Summary: The hair on the back of Piper’s neck rose. Something was about to happen. She could feel it. Like a sharp prick in her arm. Or was she actually pricked in the arm? Piper glanced down at her arm, but nothing was there.The story from Piper's point of view. How Anteros stole her emotions from here and the path to getting back to normal. How Piper felt (for lack of better word) about the whole "soulless" thing and her interactions with the rest of the Seven.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Jason Grace & Percy J. & Hazel Levesque & Piper McLean & Leo Valdez & Frank Zhang, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque & Piper McLean, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace & Piper McLean & Leo Valdez, Magnus Chase/Alex Fierro, Piper McLean & Alex Fierro, Piper McLean & Frank Zhang, Piper McLean & Magnus Chase
Series: The Sum of Our Choices [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1781341
Comments: 45
Kudos: 49





	1. Show Me a Hero and I'll Write You a Tragedy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yes, this is basically Piper's POV of the last half of Blood of Olympus from The Sum of Our Choices. It'll have new scenes that weren't in BoO and a lot of how Piper was internally during this whole ordeal as well as a reaction directly following the act of true love that fixed her.
> 
> I was inspired by Soulless Sam. I watched a LOT of episodes of that (like I binged at least half that arc) and I was like "huh, if Sam was like this, wonder what Piper was like during this". So yeah. Hope you guys like this!

GENERALLY SPEAKING, PIPER MCLEAN did not usually wake up with the intention to scream at people. Unlike Vernon Dursley from  _ Harry Potter, _ she did not count that as a good day.

But no one knows how the day is going to go when they wake up in the morning.

This morning was like any other. Piper woke up to the interior of her cabin aboard the  _ Argo II. _ She pulled on a sweatshirt and sweatpants that didn’t smell too bad—Silena would have killed Piper if she could smell them though—and headed out onto the deck to meet with the rest of the crew.

There was Leo Valdez and Jason Grace. Piper had been friends with the two boys ever since Jason had woken up on the school bus that was taking them to the Grand Canyon where they were attacked by  _ venti. _ Good memories.

Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque were two Roman demigods that Piper had only met a month earlier. They were both nice, and Piper found herself getting closer to Hazel. Piper had been helping Hazel learn how to use her Mist manipulation abilities, and in turn, Hazel had offered to give Piper some help mastering sword fighting.

Last, but certainly not least, was Magnus Chase and Alex Fierro. Back in December, the two had stumbled upon Jason, Leo, and Piper in the Colorado woods. Later, they had helped the trio fight Gaea’s army at the Wolf House in Sonoma. By a series of strange occurrences, they had ended up as the ninth and tenth passengers on the  _ Argo II _ crew which was supposed to have been made up of seven demigods and a satyr.

Barely a few days into the journey to Rome, Piper and the rest of the crew had discovered that Magnus and Alex were Norse demigods. And only days after leaving Rome they’d learned that the two Norse demigods were also time travelers.

Piper grimaced in remembrance of those implications.

The Norse demigods weren’t the only ones who had managed to get themselves sent back in time. Nico di Angelo—a dark and moody son of Hades with an affinity for black clothing—along with Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase had also time traveled. The latter two were currently slumming it in Tartarus after they failed to show on the other side of the Doors of Death in Epirius.

Jason broke the silence that had settled over them. “Anyone else ready for a fight?” he asked.

Alex gave him an unimpressed look. “Uh, no thank you? Dude, like does  _ anyone  _ listen to the Percy Jackson rules of demigodness?”

“I’m sorry,” Leo said, holding up his hands. “Percy has  _ rules  _ named after him?”

Piper thought that maybe it was something that had happened in the future considering it was Alex who was saying it. Though the idea of Percy having his own set of rules was slightly alarming.

Magnus frowned. “Unofficially? You know, the First Law of Percy Jackson is never say something is going to work out, because as soon as you do, it won’t.Then bad things happen.”

Frank shook his head. “You’re making that up. The Percy Jackson part, I mean.” He blushed. “I know the other part is true.”

“But Jason is asking for a fight,” Hazel pointed out.

Piper thought she saw something flutter just out of her peripheral vision. When she turned to look, there was nothing there.

“The Second Law of Percy Jackson,” Alex said grimly. “You’ll get a fight if you ask for a fight or if you’re hopeful for too long.”

“Well, are we going to be attacked anytime soon?” Jason asked.

Magnus winced. “According to Nico, yes? He said Kymopo-something is supposed to attack with a storm. I don’t really know. All he said was it was sometime after the chained god’s heartbeat.”

Everyone was silent as they pondered this. The hair on the back of Piper’s neck rose. Something was about to happen. She could feel it. Like a sharp prick in her arm. Or was she  _ actually _ pricked in the arm? Piper glanced down at her arm, but nothing was there.

“I don’t see any storms,” Leo said, breaking the silence.

“Well, no sh—”

“Anyway,” Jason said loudly, cutting off Magnus. “We should all keep our eyes peeled for any gods or monsters.”

“Who do you think you are to tell us what to do?”

For a second, Piper didn’t even register her own voice.

Jason blinked and turned towards her. “What?”

Piper glared at him and crossed her arms. “I  _ said  _ who—”

“Pipes!” Leo said with a frown. “What’s up with you?”

_ I don’t know! _ Piper tried to scream, but it was like she wasn’t in control of her own voice or body anymore.

Instead she snapped, “What’s up with me is that I don’t think  _ Jason  _ should be bossing us around! I know Annabeth’s not here, but that doesn’t mean you can just step in and be the leader. We didn’t even vote on that, you just elected yourself in charge because you’ve always been in change and you can’t deal with not being in charge.”

_ No, no, stop! _ Piper shouted.  _ What’s going on? _

“Piper, why are you saying that?” Hazel asked in astonishment. “Jason isn’t bossing us around. Why would you think that?”

Piper snorted derisively. “Why  _ wouldn’t  _ I think that? Just because he thinks he’s close friends with Nico or whatever doesn’t mean he knows everything.”

Jason flinched when she said that. Piper wished she could take it all back, but she had no idea what was happening to her. She didn’t mean that at all. Jason had never wanted to be the leader of the Seven and he had never tried to boss them around.

“Eidolons?” Jason asked Hazel. He avoided Piper’s eyes.

Hazel shook her head. “No. I don’t understand. It’s Piper, but… it doesn’t sound like Piper.”

She couldn’t explain it, but Piper suddenly felt anger rising in her. “Of course I’m Piper, you idiot,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Gods, you would think you would all know that after spending time on the same ship as me.”

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Alex muttered.

Piper saw the words in her mind before she even said them. “Says the demigod who can’t even decide what gender they are,” she scoffed.

_ What the Hades did I just say? _ Piper screamed.  _ Shut up, me! Apologize! Do something! _

Alex’s mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry,  _ what  _ did you say?”

The look of betrayal on Alex’s face was completely and utterly crushing. Piper wished she could take them back, she would do _anything_ to take them back, but she was powerless to do anything.

“You heard me,” Piper sneered.

A loud roar cut through the air. Frank shifted out of the form of a lion.

“Stop it!” he ordered. “I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to stop!”

_ That makes two of us! _ Piper yelled.

Magnus crossed his arms. “It’s not  _ us  _ who need to stop.”

Frank sighed. “Isn’t it obvious? Nico said we’re supposed to be attacked here. Whatever’s going on with Piper—”

“Just because you got promoted, you think you know what’s going on?” Piper interrupted. “News flash. Jason only promoted you because you were the only other Roman demigod.”

Frank didn’t acknowledge the comment other than a clenched jaw muscle and a stiffer posture. Piper was horrified when she felt the odd pleasure she felt at hurting him.

“The Piper we know,” Frank said, “would never say anything like this—”

“Well, clearly something is making her say this,” Alex said icily. “And it kinda feels like she means them.”

_ I don’t! _ Piper screamed.

“Stop talking about me!” Piper shouted, anger rising. Even with whatever was going on, she could feel the charmspeak in her words.

Magnus and Alex looked a mix of shock, anger, and confusion. Piper couldn’t blame them. She would be too if she was in their position.

Jason looked like he was praying. Piper prayed that whoever he was praying too would end this right now.

“Oh, they can’t help,” a voice said in response to something Piper hadn’t heard.

Everyone turned to see who had spoken. The owner of the voice took form before them. The man standing there had blue jeans and a cheesy graphic tee. Beautiful gold butterfly wings extended from his back. A quiver of arrows was slung across his back and a bow was held carelessly in his left hand. His hair was straight and black.

“Cupid?” Jason asked in a strangled voice.

The man’s lips turned upwards. “We do look alike, don’t we. No, Jason Grace. I am not Cupid. I do prefer to call him Eros, if you don’t mind.” He mockingly bowed gracefully. “Anteros. God of requited love.” His eyes locked onto Jason. “Avenger of unrequited love.”

“What did you do to Piper?” Hazel demanded.

_ Yes, what  _ did _ you do to me? _ Piper asked.

Anteros looked offended. “What did  _ I _ do to  _ her? _ Nothing! She did this to herself.”

_ Excuse me? _ Piper wanted to shout.  _ Why in Hades’s godsdamn name would I do this to myself? _

“Fix her,” Jason said steely. He stared Anteros right in the eyes. “Fix. Piper. Now.”

Anteros widened his eyes and held up his hands in protest. “I told you. I didn’t do this. Well, okay, maybe a little.” He smirked. “I did say I’m the avenger of unrequited love, didn’t I? Her heart will  _ never  _ belong to another for the love she threw away.”

Piper didn’t understand that part, but Jason seemed to. His mouth fell open in horror. “What?”

Even Alex—who had been busy glaring swords, daggers, knives, and spears into Piper—looked at Anteros in astonishment.

“The part of Piper who loves others and can be loved by others is still in there somewhere,” Anteros shrugged. “She’ll watch her own interactions with others, fall in love maybe, but her love can never be returned—never requited. Who could stand to be around her now?”

Piper wanted to cry. This love god had taken away her ability to love and be loved? What gave him the right to do that? How could he do that? She was stuck like this, cursed to insult everyone she cared about until they left her and rightfully so?

Leo’s words would have had Piper sobbing if she could. “Us,” he said furiously. “Her best friends! And now that we know you’ve done this to her, we’re going to fix it.”

_ Thank you, Leo! _ Piper cried. But her loveless brain had other things in mind.

“There’s nothing  _ to _ fix,” she said irritably. Piper crossed her arms. “I mean, seriously. I don’t know who  _ any  _ of you think you are. It’s my life and I can act however the Hades I want. I’m done sitting back and smiling and nodding along. I am  _ way  _ more than just a—”

_ CLANG! _

A dull pain registered on the back of Piper’s head. Then a throbbing headache exploded as Piper fell forward towards the deck. The last thing she saw before blacking out was the wood of the deck.


	2. Nothing Stops the Hero From Pursuing Their Chosen Values

AS SOON AS SHE OPENED HER EYES, Piper knew something was wrong.

It wasn’t just the fact that the rest of the crew was gathered in her room looking down at her with worry and concern—also a little bit of hate and anger. It was some gut feeling or rather, lack thereof feeling.

For some reason this didn’t panic her. Piper felt oddly calm.

She sat up. “What are you guys doing here?” she asked.

Seriously, what was up with that? It couldn’t be safe for  _ all _ of them to be below decks at the same time. What if a monster showed up? There was no guarantee Festus could sound the alarm in time.

“Piper,” Hazel said gently. “Do you remember what happened?”

Not really, but Piper wasn’t worried yet.

“Magnus was saying something about Kym-something attacking,” Piper said, rubbing the back of her head. “Ow. Did I get knocked out?”

Frank looked at Jason guiltily. Piper wondered what that was about.

“It’s a long story,” Jason said.

Alex cleared her throat. “I’m going to duck out,” she announced. “Jason, you can handle filling her in on everything she missed, right?”

Piper looked at Alex curiously. She didn’t disagree that Jason could handle giving her the rundown about what happened, but there was something off about Alex’s posture. Normally, the green haired demigod had a kind of devil-may-care air about her. Right now, Alex looked like someone had kicked her puppy down a mountain.

Jason nodded. “Sure. Yeah. Uh, I think it’s safe to say we probably won’t be running into Kym-something this time, so—”

“I’ll keep an eye out anyway,” Alex interrupted. She brushed past the other demigods and exited Piper’s cabin.

The room was thrust into an awkward silence after Alex’s departure. Magnus shifted uncomfortably and coughed.

“I’m, uh, going to go with her,” he said. “Good luck with Piper.” He left the cabin without waiting for a response.

Piper didn’t think she was imagining the extra bite Magnus had when he said her name. She was genuinely curious about that. Had something happened when she was out? If that was going to threaten the mission, she’d have to figure it out soon.

Jason cleared his throat. “Right. Um, so do you remember anything about Loki and the Erotes?”

“The who now?” Piper asked.

“The Erotes,” Hazel said. Her eyes looked sad. “They’re winged love gods. They showed up and… and shot you with a lead arrow.”

Piper frowned. “Like an anti-love arrow? Why?”

Frank and Hazel both looked away. Jason cleared his throat again.

“They, uh, they didn’t say,” Jason said. “Anyway, so the Erotes showed up and did that and then Loki came to try and take Magnus and Alex. He said…” Jason hesitated. “Loki said he could have fixed you. That he  _ would _ have fixed you if they had gone with him.”

“That would have been a disaster,” Piper said.

Jason blinked. “What?”

Piper rolled her eyes. “Come on, Jason. Don’t be naive. Magnus and Alex are part of the Seven which means that our quest will be doomed if they don’t stay with us. I don’t mind this lead arrow thing. I mean, it’s not hurting anyone, right?”

Hazel made a small noise. Her eyes darted to Jason’s, wide and worried.

Jason managed a smile. “Right. Yeah. Totally. That, uh, that make sense. Frank, can I talk to you real quick?”

Piper stared at Jason and Frank as they whispered in the corner. Frank gave Jason a nod and then headed out of the cabin.

“I told him to let Magnus and Alex know you’re all caught up,” Jason explained. “Well, almost. Look, Piper, the Erotes said that you’re basically soulless now. You can’t make emotional judgements because you’re just incapable of forming emotions.”

Piper raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So I’m just what? A zombie?”

“No!” Hazel said quickly. “No, you’re not. It might seem weird, but we’ll help you. And we know how to fix you now, so…”

“So why haven’t you done that already?” Piper asked. “I mean, it seems like the obvious thing to do to me. Why bother filling me in on all that when you should be making sure I’m 100% for the final battle against the giants and Gaea?”

Hazel flinched. “Well… we can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t?”

Jason held up a hand. “Hey. Look, we were told that the only thing that can fix this is an act of true love, but if we try to orchestrate that, it no longer becomes an act of true love because we’re in it for selfish reasons. But I promise you, Piper, we  _ will _ figure this out.”

Frank came back in. “Hey. I told them. Alex said she’s good. Nothing to worry about.”

“What’s wrong with Alex?” Piper asked.

Frank jumped. “Oh! Nothing. It’s fine. She! She’s fine, I mean!” He looked very uncomfortable and his eyes were darting around looking at everything except Piper.

“The Erotes almost got her,” Jason supplied. “With an arrow. Like you. And Loki kinda shook her and Magnus up. But nothing to worry about. Just try to avoid talking to her about it. Please.”

Piper kind of got the idea that maybe Jason wasn’t being completely truthful. But she didn’t press the issue.

“Right,” Piper said, swinging her legs over to the side of her bed. “Well, I will do my best not to let my apparent soullessness get in the way of completing the mission.”

“That’s good,” Frank said awkwardly.

“We can focus on taking down Gaea right now,” Piper continued. “That’s the most important thing. I’m just collateral damage, right? Once Gaea’s dealt with, we can rebuild whatever broke, including me.”

For some reason, her friends didn’t appear to appreciate the comparison. They exchanged side glances and worried looks before Jason gave her a small smile.

“Right,” he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you were wondering about how Piper took it when Jason told her... here you go!


	3. Heroes Are Not Born Overnight

PIPER KNEW SOMETHING WAS REALLY WRONG THAT NIGHT.

Normal people didn’t lay on their beds tossing and turning for hours in the dark unless they were insomniacs. Piper wasn’t an insomniac and throughout the whole quest, she couldn’t remember ever having a problem falling asleep.

But now she had a problem.

Piper finally sat up and flicked on her lights with a huff. At least Coach Hedge wasn’t here to yell at her for turning on her lights after lights out.

“Dammit, McLean,” she said to herself. “What the Hades are you doing? Staying awake all night is only going to hurt the mission. What good are you if you’re half-asleep tomorrow?”

If only it were that easy. A quick pep talk and then off to bed.

Piper paced the length of her room, trying to get herself to become even the least bit tired. Still nothing.

She growled.  _ Who was on night shift? _

Piper tried to think back to dinner when Jason was assigning the watch shifts they would be taking that night, but she couldn’t remember. Mostly she had been trying to stomach the food Leo had made.

Whatever. Did it really matter who was on the night shift?

Piper opened her door and stalked down the hallway until she reached the door that led up onto the main deck.

The figure on the deck started. Piper could see a sword drawn from its sheath,

“It’s just me,” Piper called.

The figure relaxed and headed over to Piper where she could see that the figure was Hazel.

“Hey, Piper,” Hazel said carefully. “What’s up?”

Piper shrugged. “Can’t sleep. Got bored. Are you on watch by yourself?”

Hazel grimaced. “No. Jason and Alex went to get hot chocolate. It’s really nice and peaceful at night, you know, but it’s so cold too. But you should be sleeping! You Frank and Leo are supposed to be taking the next shift.”

Piper blinked. Oh. She probably should have been paying attention.

“I really don’t feel tired,” Piper admitted. “It’s strange, I know, but it's just… I don’t know.”

“Does it have anything to do with what happened?” Hazel asked curiously. “With the arrow?”

“You said Jason and Alex are on this shift with you,” Piper said suddenly. “Frank, Leo, and I have the next one. Jason really gave _Magnus_ a shift by himself? Seriously?”

Hazel winced. “No. Piper, there’s seven of us. Jason decided to do shifts of three at a time which means someone gets a by-night. That’s why we change the shifts every night, remember?”

Piper looked away and shrugged. “Guess I hit my head harder than I thought. But what are you going to do when you get shot with a lead arrow against your will.”

“Sorry,” Hazel said quietly.

“Something wrong?” Jason’s voice called.

Hazel and Piper turned around to see Jason carrying two cups of steaming hot chocolate. Alex stood next to him sipping on her own hot chocolate.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Piper said. “Came out here to do something productive.”

“I think you three can cover the deck,” Alex said, ignoring Piper. “Or you two if she leaves. I’m going to fly up to the yardarm and keep an eye out for things.”

Alex swiftly turned into a bird and flew up to the yardarm with her drink in her talons. Somehow she managed not to spill a drop of the hot beverage.

Jason gave Piper an apologetic smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Are you doing okay?”

“Sure,” Piper said. “I lost my soul a matter of hours ago, but yeah. I’m fine. I had time to adjust.”

“I… can’t decide if you’re kidding or not,” Jason admitted. He handed Hazel her cup of hot chocolate. “Um, I would have gotten you some, Piper, if I knew—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Piper said, flashing him a smile. “I’m not cold or hungry or thirsty. And I’m not kidding.” She shoved her hands in the pocket of her sweatshirt. “This is really warm.”

“That’s good,” Jason said.

Piper might not have been able to really feel much emotions wise, but she could definitely feel the awkwardness in the air between Jason, Hazel, and her.

“So,” Piper said. “Um, is Alex okay? I know you said that she was almost hit and the thing with her mom—”

“Piper,” Hazel said with a strained smile. “Please don’t bring it up. Okay? Look, if Alex wants to talk about it, she’ll probably talk to Magnus because he can understand her better than we can. If she brings it up, of course we’ll talk with her, but until then, drop it. Please.”

Please. That was a word that people used when asking for someone to do something. According to Piper’s memories, typically people listened when they were asked to please do something. However, Piper was pretty sure people didn’t always listen to that, so at what point did you draw a line and say that regardless of the  _ pretty please, _ you were still going to do the opposite anyway?

“You really should get some sleep, Piper,” Jason said. “You have the next watch and I don’t want you up all night. Please.”

There it was again. Please. That word was starting to get on Piper’s nerves.

She gave Jason a wide smile that was absolutely fake. Even Piper could tell that. “Sure thing. I actually feel kind of sleepy now. Good night, Jason, Hazel. Night, Alex!” she called up to the yardarm.

Alex didn’t respond, but Jason and Hazel murmured a few goodnights before Piper headed back to her cabin.

Piper sat on her bed with a huff. “I’m not sleepy,” she said. “I’m not hungry. I’m not right.”

There was only the mission. That was all she could think about. The mission.

In no uncertain terms, Piper’s mission was to complete the Quest of Seven which meant getting the Seven demigods of the prophecy to Athens to face down with the giants. Once there, the Blood of Olympus could  _ not _ be spilled. Piper had to make sure that didn’t happen.

But if it was spilled, Gaea was going down.

No matter the cost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoping you guys like this so far. Obviously in BoO you saw Alex and Piper make amends and Alex said she blamed the gods more than she did Piper, but there had to be an awkward stage between that.
> 
> I'll post some more chapters in a few hours!


	4. The Legacy of Heroes Becomes an Example

MAGNUS WAS THE ONE WHO NOTICED.

He came up to Piper one morning and pulled her aside on the deck.

“You haven’t been eating,” he said.

Piper glanced at him. “You've been stalking me?”

“I’m technically the doctor on this ship,” Magnus said. “I’m the closest you’ll get to a qualified health professional. You’re completely healthy, lead arrow aside. Even then, there’s a number of people who are stoic and emotionless throughout their entire lives and they seem to do just fine, so I don’t think—”

“I don’t feel,” Piper interrupted. “I don’t feel at all. I’m not just emotionless, Magnus. I literally don’t feel anything at all. I don’t get tired, so I don’t sleep. I don’t get hungry, so I don’t eat. I can barely stomach tofu tacos anymore and that should be weird because I remember that I really liked eating them before. But I can’t even be weirded out by that.” She crossed her arms. “I look at this quest as a math problem. How can I get all seven of us to Athens without someone dying? Because if that happens then we have zero chance of saving the world.”

“You aren’t eating,” Magnus repeated. “How? You’re just… sustaining yourself on body fat or something?”

“I don’t know,” Piper said. “I eat sometimes, but not a lot. I eat breakfast because everyone’s there and if I don’t eat, that’s strange. I don’t eat lunch because we’re usually all off doing our own thing during the day. By dinner, no one’s paying attention to if I’m eating, so I don’t eat then either.”

Magnus was silent. “Piper,” he finally said. “Can you give me your honest answer to some questions?”

Piper shrugged. “Sure.”

“If we needed information about something to do with defeating Gaea, but it was being guarded by a bunch of monsters, what would you have us do?”

Piper tilted her head. “Like the information is written on a piece of paper being guarded?”

“Exactly,” Magnus nodded.

“Well, I’d have us attack the monsters,” Piper said. “Wouldn’t you? Quick and easy.”

Magnus pinched his lips. “Right. And what about if there were some demigods or mortals guarding it too?”

“Same thing, I guess,” Piper said. “The mortals might be harder to fight since our weapons don’t work on them, but we could do it.”

Magnus nodded slowly. “And if it was mortals guarding it. Just mortals and no monsters. Nothing to do with our world. They don’t even know it’s Gaea they’re working for.”

“It doesn’t matter who’s  _ guarding _ it, as long as we  _ get _ the information,” Piper said in exasperation. “You keep asking the same question.”

“Different question,” Magnus said. “How would you attack? The same, different. Tell me how you would attack in all three situations.”

“For the monsters I would have Frank and Alex—” Piper noted Magnus’s barely there flinch when she said Alex’s name “—transform into birds and attack the middle while the rest of us charge in with our swords and daggers. Leo would probably rig up a few traps to send the monsters back to Tartarus. I mean, we need to know how to defeat Gaea or the world will end, right? We can’t be messing around anymore. That information would be highly useful and valuable to us.”

Magnus shrugged. “I guess. Personally, I would use Hazel’s Mist abilities to disguise one or two of us and those two can sneak in and get the information that way.”

“But that would take too long,” Piper argued.

“That’s true that it would take longer,” Magnus agreed. “What about the mix of monsters and mortals. How would you handle that?”

“Same way I think,” Piper said. “The monsters we could dispose of easily enough. But Celestial bronze and Imperial gold just passes through mortals so we’d need to get more creative. I know Alex’s garrote would work and I guess Leo could use a hammer or something.” She frowned. “Which means that the just mortal scenario is a lot harder. We’d really need to be creative. Use whatever we can find.”

“You don’t think that hurting mortals who have no idea what they’re doing is a problem?” Magnus asked carefully.

Piper paused to think about that. “Well, I… Yes, it’s wrong to harm mortals, but in this situation, we’d  _ have to _ in order to get the information. We don’t have time to play around and play safe. If Gaea wakes, that’s the end. She has to be stopped by any means necessary.”

“But Piper for all three of those situations, we could use Hazel’s Mist abilities,” Magnus said, shaking his head. “It’s not the fastest way, but by going in disguised, we minimize our own chances of getting hurt and we don’t have to hurt anyone else in the process. Especially innocent mortals.” He gave her a sad look. “I think you need to be careful.”

“What? Why? Because I’m not afraid to do what it takes?”

“No,” Magnus said. “Because you just told me that you know it’s wrong and that you know there’s other ways that, while they aren’t as fast, are just as effective. But you would rather go the quicker way that involves morally darker actions. That kinda hints at some sociopathic tendencies.”

Piper glared at him. “I’m not a serial killer!”

“That’s not what sociopath means,” Magnus said. “Sociopaths can’t understand other people’s feelings and they break rules or make impulsive decisions without feeling guilty for the harm they cause. A lot of times they seem very charismatic and charming. Right now… you’re all of that, Piper.”

Piper let out a breath and turned away from Magnus to lean against the railing of the deck. She stared out over the water below.

“I’m not handing you a death sentence, Piper,” Magnus said. “But until you figure this whole soulless thing out, you need to take extra time to make decisions.”

“Okay,” Piper nodded. “I have now taken extra time and I still think my idea is better and faster.”

Magnus rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know. I mean, you should think about it like this. Have you experienced anything like this before? What did you do about it? Do you remember if that was a good solution? Who should you ask for a second opinion if necessary and possible? Questions like that. You still have your memories of when you  _ could _ feel emotion, right? So your more mathematical way of thinking will have compartmentalized things. Fighting a cyclops for example. This worked, that didn’t, so you should do this not that. If you haven’t been in a particular situation before, that’s when you should ask Jason or Leo or someone. Anyone will do really. Just get a second opinion before you act.”

“That seems like it would take too long,” Piper said.

Magnus sighed. “If you follow that procedure, it will be  _ highly _ beneficial to working as a team to defeat Gaea. And that  _ is _ the way we need to defeat her, right? As a team?”

Piper shrugged. “Yeah. Okay. What was it again? Have I experienced this before, what did I do about it, was it a good solution, and who can I ask for a second opinion. Did I get that right?”

“Yes,” Magnus said with obvious relief. “Just ask yourself that when you need to make a decision and you will be all set.”

“What about in the heat of a fight?” Piper asked.

“Hopefully we’ll all have directions of what to do, so you won’t need to worry about that,” Magnus said. “Just don’t… hurt anyone unless they’re a monster.”

“I can do that,” Piper said with a nod.

“Great,” Magnus said with a smile. “Alright, I’m off to see Alex.” He started to leave when Piper pulled him back.

“Hey, is Alex okay?” Piper asked. “She seems to be avoiding me. I get that it’s probably unsettling, but I’d rather not be treated like a nuclear bomb. She should understand considering she narrowly escaped the same thing as me.”

Magnus blinked. “What?”

“You know, the lead arrow,” Piper said. “Jason said Alex almost got hit too.”

“Oh.” Magnus shuffled awkwardly. “Yeah. She’s fine. Just worry about yourself, Piper.” He pulled his arm out of Piper’s grip and hurried off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm basing Magnus's analysis of Piper off an analysis of "Soulless Sam" or "RoboSam" which went through his behavior and pointed out he showed characteristics and traits of antisocial personality disorder and sociopathic tendencies. And as Magnus points out, it's not a bad thing, it doesn't make someone a serial killer like stereotypes probably imply which I thought was important to have him address.
> 
> But anyway, this is where Piper gets that four step process.


	5. It's the Heart, Not the Glittering Weapons, That Fight the Hero's Fight

ALEX STOPPED AVOIDING PIPER. Which probably meant that Magnus had said something to Alex about what Piper had said. That should have made Piper angry or embarrassed.

It didn’t.

Things seemed to be going back to normal—normalish—when they reached the island of Mykonos. Piper could almost pretend she was a normal girl—who was  _ not _ a sociopath no matter what Magnus said—hanging out with her friends.

The problem was that Piper wanted to be doing anything  _ but _ hanging out on the deck. It was July 30. Only two more days until Gaea woke and they still needed to finish getting the ingredients for the physician’s cure, make the cure, and get to Athens. And if that wasn’t enough, they would have to rush back to New York to help stop the Greeks and Romans from killing each other.

Nevertheless, Frank and Hazel were sent ashore to scout. Upon their return, they passed out cups of gelato to everyone to eat and enjoy. Except for Frank who was lactose intolerant and had opted to eat an apple instead.

The day was hot and windy. The sea glittered with chop, but the stabilizers were working well enough that Hazel didn’t look too seasick. A relief because honestly, Piper was getting really sick of Hazel getting sick.

“I love gelato,” Leo sighed happily as he ate a spoonful. “Praise the Italians. Hey, do you think Bianca or Nico can make gelato this good?”

Piper looked at him. “Just because they’re Italian doesn’t mean they can make gelato.”

Leo shifted awkwardly. He didn’t look at Piper.

“Nah,” Alex spoke up, “but Nico knows this place in Maine that apparently has amazing gelato.” She had two small cups of gelato—one pink and one green.  “I’ve never been there,” Alex continued. “He just promised to take us all one day if we survive this war. So no one better die,” she added, narrowing her eyes. “At least not permanently.”

As if she and Magnus didn’t already know the outcome. Piper had to admire the determination though. She could guess that at least one person had died originally, that was the whole point of getting the cure now. If Piper still had her soul, well, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t have been able to send someone to their death. Right now? Yeah, she had no problem with that.

She knew that was wrong. She knew she should feel some overwhelming urge to prevent any deaths, but if it got rid of Gaea for good, then who was Piper to argue against it?

“We saw these pelicans walking around town,” Hazel reported. “Like, just going through the shops, stopping at the bars. We thought they might be monsters in disguise, but…”

“Apparently they’re like the town mascots,” Frank said. “They’re just regular pelicans. And there’s a ‘Little Italy’ section of town. That’s why the gelato is so good.” He grinned sheepishly. “Well, I assume it’s good.”

“Europe is messed up.” Leo shook his head. “First we go to Rome for Spanish steps. Then we go to Greece for Italian ice cream.”

Piper set down her ice-cream cup that she barely touched. “So, the island of Delos is right across the harbor. Artemis and Apollo’s home turf. Who’s going?” Someone had to keep thinking about the mission.

“Me,” Leo said immediately.

Everybody stared at him.

“What?” Leo demanded. “I’m diplomatic and stuff. Frank and Hazel volunteered to back me up.”

“We did?” Frank lowered his half-eaten apple. “I mean… sure we did.”

Magnus snorted. “Yeah, that’s convincing.”

Hazel’s gold eyes flashed in the sunlight. “Leo, did you have a dream about this or something?”

“Yes,” Leo blurted. “Well… no. Not exactly. But… you got to trust me on this, guys. I need to talk to Apollo and Artemis. I’ve got an idea I need to bounce off them.”

“Yeah, okay,” Piper shrugged. “Frank, Leo, and Hazel. Just try not to get them mad like what happened with Nike.”

Piper didn’t understand why the old her hadn’t been more upset about that. Leo, Frank, Hazel, and Alex had set off to find the goddess of victory and subdue her, but had instead gotten caught up in a fight to the death which would have resulted in two of them dead if they hadn’t managed to capture Nike at the last second. And what good was a chained up goddess anyway?

“That sounds good,” Jason spoke up. “If you have an idea, I trust you.”

Leo smiled. “Thanks, man.” He clasped his hands. “Okay, guys, if they have a souvenir shop on Delos, I’m totally bringing you back some Apollo and Artemis bobbleheads!”

* * *

By the time Leo, Frank, and Hazel had returned, something was noticeably different. The two Romans seemed subdued and Leo was jittery. No one else seemed to notice anything or comment on it though, so Piper assumed it was fine. Apollo had given Leo the curse of Delos which turned out to be a yellow flower.

“We have to go see Asclepius to make the cure,” Leo announced. “Luckily, Apollo told me where to find him. I’m going to go punch in the navigation coordinates now.” He dashed off to the controls.

Hazel and Frank reported what they had found out from Artemis about the Roman assault on Camp Half-Blood.

“Onagers and monsters,” Jason said, shaking his head. “Gods, even Octavian can’t be this stupid. I can’t believe the Legion just let him do this.”

“Their pride is hurt,” Hazel said. “Octavian’s the one doing something about it. They just can’t see the whole picture. If they knew what was really going on, the Legion would be horrified. They’d turn on Octavian.”

“Sounds an awful lot like Octavian’s Hitler and the Legion is the rest of the Germans in this equation,” Alex noted. “I don’t like that comparison. Can we do something about it?”

Frank shook his head. “Unless Reyna gets back on time, no. And I don’t see how she’s supposed to do anything about it. I mean, the Legion  _ might _ listen to her because she hasn’t formally been stripped of her praetorship.”

“What  _ is _ going to happen?” Piper asked Magnus and Alex.

Magnus looked away. “Stuff. Okay, I mean, Reyna gets back in time. I don’t know how she does it, but by the time Percy and Annabeth and you guys got back, the Greeks and the Romans were working together.”

“Power of friendship, eh?” Alex said, elbowing Magnus.

He scowled. “Hardee har har.”

“The power of friendship is what you’re banking on?” Piper asked. “Are you crazy?”

Alex turned to look at Piper. “We’re counting on Nico to make sure everything that happened with Reyna and the statue goes  _ exactly _ the same as before because whatever she did clearly worked since according to Nico, Percy, and Annabeth—and Leo who we’ve also met—the Greeks and Romans are all chumy in the future!”

“That’s right!” Hazel jumped in. “You met Leo. I forgot you mentioned that. Did you ever meet any of us?”

Magnus shifted. “Well, we only met Leo because he was Percy and Annabeth’s ride to Boston. We didn’t meet Jason for… you know, reasons.”

“I was killed by Caligula,” Jason said flatly.

“That,” Magnus winced. “Uh, never met Piper, Frank, or Hazel, but Percy and Annabeth talked  _ a lot _ about you guys.”

“Listen up.” Leo appeared in the group with a smile on his face. “We’ll be at Asclepius’s by afternoon tomorrow. Which leaves us roughly less than 24 hours to reach Athens after that, but it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Is the cure really worth the risk?” Piper asked. “We’re all alive after the battle in the future, if we do exactly what happened the first time, then that means we won’t even need it.”

Alex pursed her lips. “Yeah, well, according to Percy and Annabeth, we have to get this cure, so that’s what we’re going to do.”

“Exactly,” Leo said, pointing at Alex. “Imagine we didn’t get the cure and someone actually did die. You know I’d never forgive myself if Zhang died on my watch.”

Frank jumped. “What? Me? No. I’m not dying. What? Why’d you name me?”

Leo let out a long sigh. “Gods, Frank. I’m kidding. I’m just saying I’d miss you if you died. Now, Alex on the other hand, might be a fifty-fifty thing."

“Love you too,” Alex muttered.

"Of course I'd miss you," Leo said dramatically. "I was joking."

“I’d miss you, Alex,” Magnus said.

Alex’s cheeks turned pink. “Again with the random confessions.” She paused. “If you had the gall to die, I’d kill you myself.”

“The fact that that’s what’s going to happen daily if we both end up in Valhalla should probably concern me more than it does,” Magnus admitted. “But I know you kill me out of love.”

“Let’s call it that,” Alex agreed.

Piper was a little confused how her soulless behavior could be considered sociopathic while whatever it was Magnus and Alex were talking about sounded like a normal conversation between the two.


	6. Fame of Heroes is Owed to the Success of Tributes Paid to Them

PIPER DREAMED THAT NIGHT.

Dreaming was unusual ever since she had gotten shot with the arrow. Since she didn’t really sleep much anymore, she didn’t have dreams. Lately, Piper spent her nights laying on her bed in boredom waiting for morning to come.

Tonight, she was doing just that when her thoughts and mind wandered off into dreamland.

No, not quite dreamland. She was very sure she was awake, but the sensations were like what she remembered dreaming was like.

_ Anyway, _ Jason said loudly.  _ We should all keep out eyes peeled for any gods or monsters. _

_ Who do you think you are to tell us what to do? _ someone asked. It was her. Piper was sure that voice was her. She vaguely remembered saying it.

Jason blinked.  _ What? _

_ I  _ said _ who— _

_ Pipes! _ Leo said with a frown.  _ What’s up with you? _

Piper pushed up from her bed with a sharp breath. She looked around her room, but there was no sign of the dream or vision or whatever that had been.

She relaxed slightly. It had been something like a dream. That much she was sure of. But what had it been  _ about? _ Piper didn’t even remember that happening.

Yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she  _ did _ remember it. Something had happened between what Piper could remember before the Erotes showed up and when she woke up in her cabin. She just wasn’t sure what had happened or why she didn’t remember it. She didn’t even know why the rest of the crew was insistent on hiding the truth from her.

Piper sighed and lay back down. She wasn’t doing any good just sitting there. Might as well try to find out what was going on. She had to try and recover some of her memories.

_ What’s up with me is that I don’t think  _ Jason _ should be bossing us around!  _ Piper snapped.  _ I know Annabeth’s not here, but that doesn’t mean you can just step in and be the leader. We didn’t even vote on that, you just elected yourself in charge because you’ve always been in charge and can’t deal with not being in charge. _

_ Piper, why are you saying that? _ Hazel asked in astonishment.  _ Jason isn’t bossing us around. Why would you think that? _

Piper snorted.  _ Why  _ wouldn’t  _ I think that? Just because he thinks he’s close friends with Nico or whatever doesn’t mean he knows everything. _

Jason flinched.  _ Eidolons? _ he asked Hazel.

Hazel shook her head.  _ No. I don’t understand. It’s Piper, but… it doesn’t sound like Piper. _

_ Of course I’m Piper, you idiot, _ Piper said, rolling her eyes.  _ Gods, you would think you would all know that after spending time on the same ship as me. _

_ Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, _ Alex muttered.

_ Says the demigod who can’t even— _

Piper sat up with a start when a loud knock hit her door.

“Yo, Pipes!” Leo’s voice hollered. “We’re getting close. You up yet?”

“I’ll be up in a minute,” Piper called back, barely concealing her anger.

She’d have to give it another try tonight.

* * *

Piper made her way onto the deck as the ship descended towards Epidaurus. She headed over to where Leo, Alex, and Magnus were standing on the quarterdeck.

“Oh that’s beautiful,” Leo said, maneuvering the ship to hover over the ruins of the ancient temple complex of the healing god Asclepius, where they could hopefully find the physician’s cure.

Magnus peered over the railing. “Looks like more rubble,” he noted.

Piper followed Magnus’s gaze. “I’m with Magnus on this. It’s just rubble, Leo.”

“Nah,” Alex said, pointing to the disc-shaped structure about fifty yards off their port side. “There. See, look at that.”

Leo smiled. “Artist eye for detail.”

The rest of the crew gathered around.

“What are we looking at?” Frank asked.

“Ah, Señor Zhang,” Leo said, “you know how you’re always saying, ‘Leo, you are the only true genius among demigods’?”

“I’m pretty sure I never said that.”

“Well, turns out there are other true geniuses! Because one of them must have made that work of art down there.”

“It’s a stone circle,” Frank said. “Probably the foundation of an old shrine.”

Alex shook her head. “No, it’s more than that. Look at the ridges and grooves carved around the rim.”

“Like the teeth of a gear,” Jason offered.

“And those concentric rings.” Hazel pointed to the center of the structure, where curved stones formed a sort of bull’s-eye. “The pattern reminds me of Pasiphaë’s pendant: the symbol of the Labyrinth.”

“Huh.” Leo scowled. “Well, I hadn’t thought of that. But think mechanical. Frank, Hazel… where did we see concentric circles like that before?”

“The laboratory under Rome,” Frank said.

“The Archimedes lock on the door,” Hazel recalled. “It had rings within rings.”

Piper snorted. “You’re telling me that’s a massive stone lock? It’s, like, fifty feet in diameter.”

“Hey,” Magnus said pointedly.

Piper sighed. “Right. Sorry.”

Ever since their conversation about Piper apparently being a sociopath—she was  _ not _ a sociopath—Magnus had been all too eager to correct Piper on her wrongdoings. Maybe she appreciated the help at times, but it could get so  _ annoying _ after the first… Actually, yeah. It was just plain annoying the first time.

“Annabeth had a lot of books,” Magnus said. “Like, a lot. So I’ve been reading. She must have tried to leave relevant information because I found a book on Asclepius. In ancient times, the temple of Asclepius was like the General Hospital of Greece. Everybody came here for the best healing. Aboveground, it was the size of a major city, but supposedly the real action happened belowground. That’s where the high priests had their intensive-care super-magical-type compound, accessed by a secret passage.”

“Nerd,” Alex said.

Magnus threw her a dirty look. “You’re welcome.”

“Now what?” Hazel asked.

Leo turned to Jason and Piper. “You guys remember the giant Archimedes grabber arm I told you I was building?”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were kidding.”

“Oh, my friend, I never kid about giant grabber arms!” Leo rubbed his hands in anticipation. “It’s time to go fishing for prizes! Besides, if we  _ do  _ have to use this arm to grab our friends from the pits of hell, I’m going to need to test it out!”

* * *

If Magnus thought Piper should be going through a four step process before acting, Piper was of the opinion that Leo needed to do that too.

Compared to the other modifications Leo had made to the ship, the grabber arm was relatively tame and the least likely to cause harm to anyone. Except, according to Leo, Archimedes had originally designed it to pluck enemy ships out of the water. Piper could only thank the gods that Coach Hedge hadn’t gotten his hands on it.

Leo was guiding the arm while Jason flew around shouting directions.

“Left!” Jason called. “A couple of inches—yeah! Okay, down. Keep it coming. You’re good.”

Piper watched as the claw’s prongs settled around the grooves in the circular stone structure below.

“Okay, little buddy.” Leo patted the Archimedes sphere embedded in the helm. “This is all you.” He activated the sphere.

The grabber arm began to turn like a corkscrew. It rotated the outer ring of stone, which ground and rumbled but thankfully didn’t shatter. Then the claw detached, fixed itself around the second stone ring and turned it in the opposite direction.

“Huh,” Piper said, staring at the monitor. “It’s working.”

Leo gave Piper a small smile. “Of course it did.” He looked like he was about to say something else, but it died in his throat and he turned away.

Piper frowned, wondering what that was about. She almost asked, but then below them, the last stone ring turned and settled with a deep pneumatic hiss. The entire fifty-foot pedestal telescoped downward into a spiral staircase.

Hazel exhaled. “Leo, even from up here, I’m sensing bad stuff at the bottom of those stairs. Something… large and dangerous. You sure you don’t want me to come along?”

“Thanks, Hazel, but we’ll be good.” He patted Piper on the back. “Me and Piper and Jason—we’re old pros at large and dangerous.”

Frank held out the vial of Pylosian mint. “Don’t break it.”

Leo nodded gravely. “Don’t break the vial of deadly poison. Man, I’m glad you said that. Never would have occurred to me.”

“Shut up, Valdez.” Frank gave him a bear hug. “And be careful.”

“Ribs,” Leo squeaked.

“Sorry.”

Alex and Magnus wished them good luck.

Jason summoned the winds and whisked Piper and Leo down to the surface.


	7. The Hero is Simple and Obscure

PERSONALLY, PIPER THOUGHT THE STATUE WAS OVERKILL.

The stairs spiralled downward about sixty feet before opening into a chamber as large as Bunker Nine—which is to say, ginormous.

The polished white tiles on the walls and floor reflected the light of Jason’s sword and providing enough light to see. Rows of long stone benches filled the entire chamber, and at the far end of the room, stood a ten-foot-tall statue of pure white alabaster—a young woman in a white robe, a serene smile on her face. In one hand she raised a cup, while a golden serpent coiled around her arm, its head poised over the brim as if ready to drink.

“Large and dangerous,” Jason guessed.

Piper scanned the room. “This must have been the sleeping area.” Her voice echoed loudly in the large room. “The patients stayed here overnight. The god Asclepius was supposed to send them a dream, telling them what cure to ask for.”

“How do you know that?” Leo asked. “Magnus told you?”

Well,  _ that _ wasn’t offensive at all. Was Piper  _ really _ the one without the soul here?

She sent him a scathing look. “Now who’s the insensitive soulless one? I know stuff too, okay? That statue over there is Hygeia, the daughter of Asclepius. She’s the goddess of good health. That’s where we get the word hygiene.”

That was true. She and her dad had found out about the two gods when they had done research into Greek mythology. The only thing about that memory was that she couldn’t feel the warm and fuzziness surrounding it.

Jason studied the statue warily. “What’s with the snake and the cup?”

“Uh, not sure,” Piper admitted. “But back in the day this place—the Asclepion—was a medical school as well as a hospital. All the best doctor-priests trained here. They would’ve worshipped both Asclepius and Hygeia.”

Without waiting for the other two, Piper headed down the center aisle towards the statue. She could sense Jason following after her and she heard Leo’s feet hitting the tiles as he ran after them.

Strewn across the benches were old magazines: Highlights for Children, Autumn, 20 B.C.E.; Hephaestus-TV Weekly—Aphrodite’s Latest Baby Bump; A: The Magazine of Asclepius—Ten Simple Tips to Get the Most out of Your Leeching!

“It’s a reception area,” Leo muttered. “I hate reception areas.”

Here and there, piles of dust and scattered bones lay on the floor. Piper figured that wasn’t a good sign, soul or no soul.

“Check it out.” Jason pointed. “Were those signs here when we walked in? And that door?”

Piper followed where Jason was pointing. On the wall to the right of the statue, above a closed metal door, were two electronic sign boards. The top one read:

THE DOCTOR IS:

INCARCERATED.

The sign below that read:

NOW SERVING NUMBER: 0000000

Jason squinted. “I can’t read it that far away. The doctor is…”

“Incarcerated,” Leo said. “Apollo warned me that Asclepius was being held under guard. Zeus didn’t want him sharing his medical secrets or something.”

“Twenty bucks and the souls of the innocent that statue is the guardian,” Piper said.

“First of all, I’m not taking that bet,” Leo said, staring at Piper. “Second of all, what was that?”

Piper blinked. “A joke?” Wasn’t it funny? She couldn’t tell.

“Just because you’re soulless doesn’t mean you get to make Nico tier dark humor jokes,” Leo shivered. “That was just… creepy.” He glanced at the nearest pile of waiting-room dust. “Well… I guess we take a number.”

The giant statue had other ideas.

When they got within five feet, she turned her head and looked at them. Her expression remained frozen. Her mouth didn’t move. But a voice issued from somewhere above, echoing through the room.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Does your mouth work?” Piper fired back.

Jason slapped a hand over Piper’s mouth. Piper struggled to remove it.

“Haha,” Jason said weakly, “my friend is kidding. Um, we’re actually here to see Asclepius. Apollo sent us.”

The alabaster statue stepped off her dais. Piper shoved Jason’s hand away from her mouth.

“I see.” The statue kept smiling, though she didn’t sound pleased. “May I make a copy of your insurance cards?”

“Lady, we’re teenages,” Piper said. “Do you  _ think  _ we carry our insurance cards?”

“No insurance cards?” The statue shook her head. An exasperated sigh echoed through the chamber. “I suppose you haven’t prepared for your visit, either. Have you washed your hands thoroughly?”

“Yes,” Jason said quickly.

Leo hid his hands behind his back. Piper rolled her eyes.

“Are you wearing clean underwear?” the statue asked.

“Hey, lady,” Leo said, “that’s getting personal.”

“You should always wear clean underwear to the doctor’s office,” chided Hygeia. “I’m afraid you are a health hazard. You will have to be sanitized before we can proceed.”

The golden snake uncurled and dropped from her arm. It reared its head and hissed, flashing saber-like fangs.

“Uh, you know,” Jason said, “getting sanitized by large snakes isn’t covered by our medical plan. Darn it.”

“Oh, that doesn’t matter,” Hygeia assured him. “Sanitizing is a community service. It’s complimentary!”

The snake lunged at Leo.

Leo leaped to one side and the snake missed his head by an inch. He rolled and came up, hands blazing. As the snake attacked, Leo blasted it in the eyes, causing it to veer left and smash into the bench.

Meanwhile, Piper and Jason went to work on Hygeia. They slashed through the statue’s knees, felling her like an alabaster Christmas tree. Her head hit a bench. Her chalice splashed steaming acid all over the floor. Jason and Piper moved in for the kill, but, before they could strike, Hygeia’s legs popped back on like they were magnetic. The goddess rose, still smiling.

“Unacceptable,” she said. “The doctor will not see you until you are properly sanitized.”

She sloshed her cup towards Piper, who jumped out of the way as more acid splashed across the nearest benches, dissolving the stone in a hissing cloud of steam. Anything that could do that to stone was probably not healthy for the human body.

Jason soared into the air and lopped off the goddess’s head. Sadly, the head flew right back into place.

“Unacceptable,” Hygeia said calmly. “Decapitation is not a healthy lifestyle choice.”

“Jason, get over here!” Leo yelled. “Piper, buy us some time!”

“Oh sure,” she said sarcastically. “Let me get right on that for you.”

“Please?”

Piper rolled her eyes at him and looked at Hygeia. “Hygeia! I have insurance!” she yelled.

That got the statue’s attention. Even the golden snake turned towards her, as if insurance was some sort of tasty rodent.

“Insurance?” the statue said eagerly. “Who is your provider?”

“Nunya,” Piper said. She gave Hygeia a big fake smile. “I have the card right here. Just a second.”

She made a big show of patting down her pockets. The snake slithered over to watch. Jason and Leo huddled up, hopefully thinking of a plan to get them out of here.

“Where is your card?” Hygeia asked impatiently.

“I know it was here somewhere,” Piper said.

Hygeia huffed. “Is Nunya an HMO?

“HMO? Yeah, it is,” Piper answered.

“What is your deductible?” Hygeia asked.

“Not sure,” Piper said with a frown. “You know how it is. Insurance companies.”

Hygeia nodded sagely. “Yes. It’s a real problem. Who is your primary care deity?”

“Uh, my mom’s Aphrodite,” Piper offered. “I’ve been treated by children of Apollo before though, so I suppose Apollo would be my primary care deity.”

Out of the corner of her eyes, Piper saw Leo and Jason run for the snake. Leo jumped on the serpent’s back and seemed to be doing something to the mechanics of the snake while Jason stood by, ready to attack.

“But the other day, ugh, you should have been there,” Piper said. “I was just trying to fix up this scrap on my knee, right? Such a simple thing. But I kept getting bounced around from the walk in clinic to urgent care to the advice center. Then the advice nurse said I had to call a service center,” she reported. “And the medications weren’t covered by my plan! And—”

The snake lurched. Leo jumped off and the golden serpent began shaking uncontrollably.

Hygeia whirled to face them. “What have you done? My snake requires medical assistance!”

_ Thank the gods I can stop this charade, _ Piper thought.

“I lied,” she said. “My insurance provider isn't Nunya. It's Nunya business.”

“WHAT?” The statue turned back to her, and Leo jumped. Jason summoned a gust of wind, which boosted Leo onto the statue’s shoulders like a little kid at a parade. He popped open the back of the statue’s head as she staggered around, sloshing acid.

“Get off!” she yelled. “This is not hygienic!”

“Hey!” Jason yelled, flying circles around her. “I have a question about my deductibles!”

“What?” the statue cried.

“Hygeia!” Piper shouted. “I need an invoice submitted to Medicare!”

“No, please!”

Leo messed around with the statue's mechanics and Hygeia began to spin, hollering and flailing her arms. Leo jumped away, barely avoiding an acid bath.

The three demigods backed up while Hygeia and her snake underwent a violent religious experience.

“What did you do?” Piper demanded.

“Idiot mode,” Leo said.

“Excuse me?” Was that supposed to be an insult?

“Back at camp,” Jason explained, “Chiron had this ancient gaming system in the rec room. Leo and I used to play it sometimes. You’d compete against, like, computer-controlled opponents, coms—”

“—and they had three difficulty options,” Leo said. “Easy, medium and hard.”

_ No duh, _ Piper thought.

“Thanks,” she rolled her eyes. “I’ve played video games before. So what did you do?”

“Well… I got bored with those settings.” Leo shrugged. “So I invented a fourth difficulty level: idiot mode. It makes the coms so stupid it’s funny. They always choose exactly the wrong thing to do.”

Piper stared at the statue and snake, both of which were writhing and starting to smoke. “Are you sure you set them to idiot mode?”

“We’ll know in a minute.”

“What if you set them to extreme difficulty?”

“Then we’ll know that, too.”

“Great,” she muttered. So she’d either be really dead in a few moments or she’d be going to see a doctor. She wasn’t sure which was worse.

“You know, sarcastic and witty Piper is kinda growing on me,” Leo said. “Are we sure we have to fix her?”

Piper and Jason fixed him with identical looks of disbelief.

“Uh, yes?” Jason said.

Piper tapped her chin. “I don’t know for sure, but I  _ think  _ old me would like emotions back. Hey, look.”

The snake stopped shuddering. It coiled up and looked around as if bewildered.

Hygeia froze. A puff of smoke drifted from her right ear. She looked down at Leo. “You must die! Hello! You must die!”

She raised her cup and poured acid over her face. Then she turned and marched face-first into the nearest wall. The snake reared up and slammed its head repeatedly into the floor.

“Okay,” Jason said. “I think we have achieved idiot mode.”

“Hello! Die!” Hygeia backed away from the wall and face-slammed it again.

“Let’s go.” Leo ran for the metal door next to the dais. He grabbed the handle and looked up at the signs above the door.

“Jason,” he said, “give me a boost.”

Another gust of wind levitated him upward. Leo went to work with his pliers, reprogramming the signs until the top one flashed:

THE DOCTOR IS:

IN DA HOUSE.

The bottom sign changed to read:

NOW SERVING:

ALL DA LADIES LUV LEO!

The metal door swung open, and Leo settled to the floor.

“See, the wait wasn’t so bad!” Leo grinned at Piper and Jason. “The doctor will see us now.”

_ Oh goodie, _ Piper thought sarcastically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters might seem a little repetitive and of course Piper has a POV in BoO, but I've shorted those and reworded parts so it's not as repetitive.
> 
> Also, I guess I should say that the chapter titles are all adaptations of quotes about heroes and heroism.


	8. The Scantiest Materials Can Make a Hero

PIPER WAS KIND OF IMPRESSED by all the acronyms on the bronze plaque. The plaque read:

ASCLEPIUS

MD, DMD, DME, DC, DVS, FAAN, OMG, EMT, TTYL, FRCP, ME, IOU, OD, OT, PHARMD, BAMF, RN, PHD, INC., SMH, IMHO, BRB, TGIF, BTW, IRL, TBH

There were others, but Piper didn’t have time to take them all in. They needed the cure from Asclepius so they could  _ finally _ be on their way to Athens.

Piper knocked. “Asclepius?”

The door flew open. The man inside had a kindly smile, crinkles around his eyes, short salt-and-pepper hair and a well-trimmed beard. He wore a white lab coat over a business suit and a stethoscope around his neck—your stereotypical doctor outfit, except for one thing: Asclepius held a polished black staff with a live green python coiled around it.

“Hello!” said Asclepius.

“Hi,” Piper said with a wide fake smile. “We need your help. We need the physician’s cure.”

Something Piper was actually concerned about was the effectiveness of her charmspeak. Did it still work?  _ Could _ it still work? Her lack of emotions couldn’t have an effect on her charmspeak, right?

Luckily, she didn’t have to worry.

Asclepius put his hand over his heart. “Oh, my dear, I would be delighted to help.”

“Of  _ course  _ you would,” Piper smiled.

“Come in! Come in!” Asclepius ushered them into his office.

The office looked like a normal doctor’s office: a big maple desk, bookshelves stuffed with medical books, and some of those plastic organ models.

Asclepius took the big comfy doctor’s chair and laid his staff and serpent across his desk. “Please, sit!”

Jason and Piper took the two chairs on the patients’ side. Leo had to remain standing.

_ Too bad,  _ Piper smirked.  _ You snooze, you lose. _

“So.” Asclepius leaned back. “I can’t tell you how nice it is to actually talk with patients. The last few thousand years, the paperwork has gotten out of control. Rush, rush, rush. Fill in forms. Deal with red tape. Not to mention the giant alabaster guardian who kills everyone in the waiting room. It takes all the fun out of medicine!”

“Yeah,” Leo said. “Hygeia is kind of a downer.”

Asclepius grinned. “My real daughter Hygeia isn’t like that, I assure you. She’s quite nice. At any rate, you did well reprogramming the statue. You have a surgeon’s hands.”

Jason shuddered. “Leo with a scalpel? Don’t encourage him.”

Piper agreed with that.

The doctor god chuckled. “Now, what seems to be the trouble?” He sat forward and peered at Jason. “Hmm… No cancer, no heart problems. Watch that mole on your left foot, but I’m sure it’s benign.”

Jason blanched. “How did you—”

“Oh, of course!” Asclepius said. “You’re a bit near-sighted! Simple fix.”

He opened his drawer, whipped out a prescription pad and an eyeglasses case. He scribbled something on the pad, then handed the glasses and the script to Jason. “Keep the prescription for future reference, but these lenses should work. Try them on.”

“Wait,” Leo said. “Jason is near-sighted?”

Jason opened the case. “I—I have had a little trouble seeing stuff from a distance lately,” he admitted. “I thought I was just tired.” He tried on the glasses, which had thin frames of Imperial gold. “Wow. Yeah. That’s better.”

“Just don’t let them fall off,” Piper said. “Maybe we should get one of those sports bands. It would really suck if you lost them and couldn’t see when we fight monsters.”

Seriously. It might look cool in  _ Harry Potter, _ but there was no way those glasses were staying on Harry’s face without magical help of some kind.

Jason sighed. “Thanks, Piper.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Thanks, uh, Dr. Asclepius,” Jason said. “But that’s not why we came.”

“No?” Asclepius steepled his fingers. “Well, let’s see then…” He turned to Piper. “You seem fine, my dear. Broken arm when you were six. Fell off a horse?”

Piper’s jaw dropped. “How could you possibly know that?” She never even told Leo or Jason about that.

“Vegetarian diet,” he continued. “No problem, just make sure you’re getting enough iron and protein. Hmm… a little weak in the left shoulder. I assume you got hit with something heavy about a month ago?”

“A sandbag in Rome,” Piper said.

“Alternate ice and a hot pack if it bothers you,” Asclepius advised. “And… oh. A lead arrow to the heart. I fear if this is why you’ve come, I cannot help you.”

Of course he couldn’t. Piper  _ did _ wonder why the god hadn’t said anything about her not eating much anymore if he could detect the lead arrow thing. Then again, she  _ felt _ sustained and healthy, so she probably  _ appeared _ sustained and healthy.

“No,” Jason shook his head. “That’s not why, but… you really can’t do anything?”

Asclepius gave Piper a sad look. “I’m sorry, my dear. But you’ll need an act of true love in your name to undo its effects.” He turned to face Leo. “And you… oh my.” The doctor’s expression turned grim. The friendly twinkle disappeared from his eyes. “Oh, I see…”

“What?” Jason’s new glasses flashed. “What’s wrong with Leo?”

“Hey, doc.” Leo gave Asclepius a look. “We came for the physician’s cure. Can you help us? I’ve got some Pylosian mint here and a very nice yellow daisy.” He set the ingredients on the desk, carefully avoiding the snake’s mouth.

“Hold it,” Jason said. “Is there something wrong with Leo or not?”

Asclepius cleared his throat. “I… never mind. Forget I said anything. Now, you want the physician’s cure.”

“Yes,” Piper said eagerly. They really needed to get the damn cure and get out of here.

Jason didn’t look happy about it, but Asclepius forged ahead. “So this daisy was picked by my father, Apollo?”

“Yep,” Leo said. “He sends hugs and kisses.”

Asclepius picked up the flower and sniffed it. “I do hope Dad comes through this war all right. Zeus can be… quite unreasonable. Now, the only missing ingredient is the heartbeat of the chained god.”

“I have it,” Piper said. “At least… I can summon the makhai.”  _ Maybe, _ she added privately. Who knew if the spirits would still answer to her now.

“Excellent. Just a moment, dear.” Asclepius looked at his python. “Spike, are you ready?”

Leo stifled a laugh. “Your snake’s name is Spike?”

Spike looked at Leo balefully. He hissed, revealing a crown of spikes around his neck like a basilisk’s.

Leo’s laugh immediately died. “My bad,” he said. “Of course your name is Spike.”

“He’s a little grumpy,” Asclepius said. “People are always confusing my staff with the staff of Hermes, which has two snakes, obviously. Over the centuries, people have called Hermes’s staff the symbol of medicine, when of course it should be my staff. Spike feels slighted. George and Martha get all the attention. Anyway…”

Asclepius set the daisy and poison in front of Spike. “Pylosian mint—certainty of death. The curse of Delos—anchoring that which cannot be anchored. Now the final ingredient: the heartbeat of the chained god—chaos, violence and fear of mortality.” He turned to Piper. “My dear, you may release the makhai.”

Piper closed her eyes.

_ Please, _ she prayed.  _ Please, answer me. _

Wind swirled through the room. Angry voices wailed. None of it had any effect on Piper.

Then Spike unhinged his jaw and swallowed the angry wind. His neck ballooned as the spirits of battle went down his throat. He snapped up the daisy and the vial of Pylosian mint for dessert.

“Won’t the poison hurt him?” Jason asked.

“No, no,” Asclepius said. “Wait and see.”

A moment later Spike belched out a new vial—a stoppered glass tube no bigger than a finger. Dark red liquid glowed inside.

“The physician’s cure.” Asclepius picked up the vial and turned it in the light. His expression became serious, then bewildered. “Wait… why did I agree to make this?”

Piper placed her hand palm up on the desk. “Because we need it to save the world. It’s very important. You’re the only one who can help us.”

If they got  _ this _ far only for Asclepius to chicken out at the last moment, Piper would strangle the god.

Spike the snake relaxed. He curled around his staff and went to sleep. Asclepius’s expression softened, like he was easing himself into a hot bath.

“Of course,” the god said. “I forgot. But you must be careful. Hades hates it when I raise people from the dead. The last time I gave someone this potion, the Lord of the Underworld complained to Zeus, and I was killed by a lightning bolt. BOOM!”

Leo flinched. “You look pretty good for a dead guy.”

“Oh, I got better. That was part of the compromise. You see, when Zeus killed me, my father Apollo got very upset. He couldn’t take out his anger on Zeus directly; the king of the gods was much too powerful. So Apollo took revenge on the makers of lightning bolts instead. He killed some of the Elder Cyclopes. For that, Zeus punished Apollo… quite severely. Finally, to make peace, Zeus agreed to make me a god of medicine, with the understanding that I wouldn’t bring anyone else back to life.” Asclepius’s eyes filled with uncertainty. “And yet here I am… giving you the cure.”

“Because you realize how important this is,” Piper said, “you’re willing to make an exception.”

_ Just give us the cure! _ Piper screamed.

“Yes…” Reluctantly, Asclepius handed Piper the vial. “At any rate, the potion must be administered as soon as possible after death. It can be injected or poured into the mouth. And there is only enough for one person. Do you understand me?” He looked directly at Leo.

“Yep, we understand,” Piper said standing up. “Thank you. Goodbye.”

Asclepius rose. “Best wishes, demigods. And, if you see my father again, please… give him my regrets.”

Piper seriously doubted they would see Apollo, but she didn’t voice that. She had a feeling Magnus would have advised against it and counted it as one more tick in favor of his “Piper is a Sociopath” theory.

As they passed through the waiting room, the statue of Hygeia was sitting on a bench, pouring acid on her face and singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, while her golden snake gnawed at her foot.

* * *

Back on the _ Argo II, _ they gathered in the mess hall and filled in the rest of the crew.

“I don’t like it,” Jason said. “The way Asclepius looked at Leo—”

“Aw, he just sensed my heartsickness.” Leo tried for a smile. “You know, I’m dying to see Calypso.”

“Aww,” Alex said. “Cute.”

Jason just frowned. “Maybe. But any of us might die, right? So we just need to keep the potion handy. Unless you two know?” he asked Magnus and Alex. “I mean, there’s only one dose, so it would be nice to know who needs to have it and who needs to take it.”

_ Not like they’ll tell us, _ Piper grumbled.

“Piper,” Magnus blurted.

She blinked.  _ Or maybe he will. _

“Piper should carry the cure,” Magnus continued.

_ Never mind. Still, it’s more helpful than before. _

“Annabeth said Leo gave it to her last time,” Magnus explained. “I mean, he gave it to her to hold onto. Not that Leo had to resurrect Piper.”

“Great,” Leo said. “Piper it is then.”

“Okay,” Piper said dubiously. “I’m cool with that, but I think I should ask if you guys are all okay with me holding it.”

This was something they really couldn’t afford to mess up. Piper was confident in her ability to make the right choices to defeat Gaea, but she had been made all too aware that her “right” choices didn’t always line up with the others’ “right” choices.

Jason gave her a small smile. “You’re the right choice. I don’t care about the lead arrow. When the time comes, you’ll do the right thing.”

Leo picked up the vial. “Is everyone in agreement?”

No one objected.

Leo pulled a cloth from his tool belt and wrapped up the physician's cure. He presented the package to Piper who accepted it.

“Okay, then,” Leo said. “Athens tomorrow morning, gang. Be ready to fight some giants.”

“Yeah…” Frank murmured. “I know I’ll sleep well.”

_ Lucky for you, _ Piper thought bitterly.


	9. Heroism is in the Occassion

OF COURSE SHE FINALLY MANAGED TO REMEMBER. Of course it was quite possibly her last day on earth when she remembered.

Piper stayed up all night (as usual) trying to recall what had happened. The earlier comments she had managed to recall came back easily.

_ What’s up with me is that I don’t think  _ Jason  _ should be bossing us around! I know Annabeth’s not here, but that doesn’t mean you can just step in and be the leader. We didn’t even vote on that, you just elected yourself in charge because you’ve always been in change and you can’t deal with not being in charge. _

_ Why  _ wouldn’t  _ I think that? Just because he thinks he’s close friends with Nico or whatever doesn’t mean he knows everything. _

_ Of course I’m Piper, you idiot. Gods, you would think you would all know that after spending time on the same ship as me. _

Then she got to the part Leo had interrupted her during.

_ Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, _ Alex muttered.

_ Says the demigod who can’t even decide what gender they are, _ Piper scoffed.

Alex’s mouth dropped open.  _ I’m sorry,  _ what _ did you say? _

Even without her emotions or soul or whatever, Piper couldn’t believe she’d said that. She couldn’t believe she’d said half that stuff. Even if the lead arrow made her  _ think _ all of that, she would have thought she was smart enough to know it wasn’t socially acceptable to say any of that.

Piper sat up. She didn’t want to think about any of those forgotten memories of when she was apparently shot with the lead arrow. Maybe it was a blessing she didn’t remember.

But now the floodgates were open. She could almost remember those horrible moments like they were a dream. Not quite clear, but definitely there.

Piper checked the time. It was a decent enough hour to be awake and most likely Leo was already on the deck. Jason was probably up too, he was an early riser, all the Romans were. Which meant Frank and Hazel were probably just getting up. Okay, maybe everyone was awake. She couldn’t see Magnus or Alex sleeping in with all the noise going on from four other demigods.

* * *

Piper stood moodily at the railing of the deck. Over the past couple months, she’d been through a lot.

She’d journeyed to Camp Jupiter where her best friend had been possessed by eidolons and forced to fire on New Rome. She’d faced off against Shrimpzilla. She’d fought Hercules with high velocity pineapples. She’d fought giants under the Colosseum in Rome. She’d drunk poison with only barley cakes as protection. She’d fought the suitors in Ithaca. She’d used her emotions to outsmart a giant. She’d been shot with a lead arrow that took away her ability to feel emotions. Most recently, she’d fought a giant statue that Leo then set to idiot mode.

Oh, yes, and who could forget, she just started getting her memories of the roasting, name calling, being a complete ass to her friends directly following the lead arrow thing.

So when the snake people arrived, Piper wasn’t really that surprised. She wasn’t sure she  _ could  _ feel surprised, but she was sure that if she could feel anything, she probably wouldn’t be feeling very surprised.

That was the strange thing about this whole lead arrow thing. She  _ knew  _ she  _ should  _ feel a certain way, but she just  _ couldn’t  _ feel that way. Back when she and Magnus were facing Mimas, Piper had defeated the giant by relying on her emotions. Now, she was more or less making decisions based on factual information. Is this smart? Is this going to benefit the quest? Will this help us defeat Gaea and the giants? They were strictly yes or no questions, it wasn’t based on emotions.

When they docked the ship at the harbor in Piraeus, on the outskirts of Athens, Piper’s eyes caught a flicker of movement heading towards them. She turned to look and she saw three dudes with snake tails instead of legs slithering along the docks, winding through crowds of mortal tourists who paid them no attention.

It would be easy enough to just take care of them. They looked like dracaena which were monsters that Piper and her friends had fought before. So by extension, these snake people must also be monsters.

Piper forced herself to use Magnus’s “Piper is a Sociopath” system.  _ Have you experienced anything like this before? What did you do about it? Do you remember if that was a good solution? Who should you ask for a second opinion if necessary and possible? _

Had she experienced something like this before? Yes. Dracaena. Bad monsters. What did she do? She killed them. Was it a good solution? Probably. Her friends were alive and not murdered by snake monsters, weren’t they? Who should she ask for a second opinion?

Piper glanced around. Her friends were gearing up for combat—checking their weapons and armor, loading the ballistae and catapults. Well, all of them was probably better than none of them.

“Um, guys?” Piper called. “We’ve got company.”

Leo looked up and scowled. “Great. Dracaena.”

“Don’t those have two snake legs?” Magnus pointed out. “These guys only have one. And they look more human on top. Dracaena are usually scaly and green.”

Alex snapped his fingers. “Kekrops. From Nico’s note. He said to follow Kekrops after—” he cut off with a glance at Piper.

“I’m guessing I have to do something?” Piper said.

“Yeah, sing,” Magnus said.

Piper blinked. “Sing? What the Hades is  _ that  _ supposed to do? I’m just supposed to  _ sing  _ to these snake people? Kekrops?”

“It’s all Nico told us, okay?” Alex snapped.

Piper rolled her eyes and looked back at the snake people. She couldn’t help thinking about the Cherokee story about the hunter who had broken his taboo and turned into a snake. These three looked like they’d been breaking their taboo a lot.

Weirdly, the one in the lead reminded Piper of her dad when he’d grown a beard for his role in King of Sparta. The snake man held his head high. His face was chiselled and bronze, his eyes black as basalt, his curly dark hair glistening with oil. His upper body rippled with muscles, covered only by a Greek chlamys—a white wool cloak loosely wrapped and pinned at the shoulder. From the waist down, his body was one giant serpent trunk—about eight feet of green tail undulating behind him as he moved. In one hand he carried a staff topped with a glowing green jewel. In his other, he carried a platter covered with a silver dome, like a main course for a fancy dinner.

The two guys behind him appeared to be guards. They wore bronze breastplates and elaborate helmets topped with horsehair bristles. Their spears were tipped with green stone points. Their oval shields were emblazoned with a large Greek letter K—kappa.

They stopped a few yards from the  _ Argo II. _ The leader looked up and studied the demigods. His expression was intense but inscrutable. He might have been angry or worried or terribly in need of a restroom.

“Permission to come aboard.” His rasping voice made Piper think of a straight razor being wiped across a strop—like in her grandfather’s barbershop back in Oklahoma.

“Who are you?” she asked.

He fixed his dark eyes on her. “I am Kekrops, the first and eternal king of Athens. I would welcome you to my city.” He held up the covered platter. “Also, I brought a Bundt cake.”

“He brought food,” Piper said.

“It feels like a trick, but Nico said we should follow them,” Hazel said.

“After Piper sings,” Frank added with a short half-glance at Piper. “Whatever that means.”

Alex shrugged. “Well, let’s hear them out and then if we don’t like what they say, we can kill them.” He gave the snake guys a wide grin. “Welcome aboard!”

_ This is going to be great, _ Piper sighed.  _ Joy to the freaking world. _


	10. A Hero Rebels Against the Facts and Conquers Them

PIPER WAS LESS THAN OKAY. She couldn’t feel anything, but she  _ knew _ she was not okay with this.

When Magnus and Alex volunteered to go with her, Piper’s stomach twisted. Of course it was today. Of course it was right after she finally remembered what she had said to Alex to make him and Magnus irritated.

She tried to distract herself with the scenery. And singing. She had to sing to control the gemini.

“This is disgusting,” Piper muttered as they clomped through the tunnels under Athens, led by the snake men, the gemini.

Maybe she had lost her emotions, but she definitely hadn’t lost disgust. Unfortunately, she couldn’t complain about it as much as she would have liked because if she stopped singing for longer than a minute or two, Kekrops and his guards started hissing and looking angry.

“I don’t like this,” Magnus murmured. “Kinda reminds me of Thrym’s cave where the only way out was the way we came and we’re going in the opposite direction.”

Kekrops hissed with laughter. “Our domain is much older. Much, much older.”

Somehow Alex and Magnus’s hands found each other. It was times like these that Piper was reminded that the two Norse demigods were actually in a relationship. Neither of them were very touchy-feely and half their flirting was throwing sarcastic barbs at the other.

Honestly, it just made her feel worse about the whole thing.

Piper’s voice echoed through the tunnels. As they travelled further into the lair, more snake people gathered to hear her. Soon they had a procession following behind them—dozens of gemini all swaying and slithering.

Piper had lived up to her granddad’s prediction. She had learned the song of the snakes—which turned out to be a George Gershwin number from 1935. So far she had even kept the snake king from biting, just like in the old Cherokee story. The only problem with that legend: the warrior who learned the snake song had to sacrifice his wife for the power. Piper was pretty sure she didn’t want to sacrifice anyone. That was why they had gotten the physicians cure, wasn’t it? So they didn’t have to sacrifice any lives.

The vial of physician’s cure was still wrapped in its chamois cloth, tucked in her belt pouch. They probably should have discussed what to do about that, but there hadn’t exactly been time and it wasn’t like she could stop singing long enough to chat. They would just had to hope they would all be reunited on the hilltop before anyone needed the cure. If one of them died and she couldn’t reach them… Well, she didn’t need emotions to tell her that Old Piper would feel awful.

_ Just keep singing, _ she told herself.

They passed through crude stone chambers littered with bones. They climbed slopes so steep and slippery it was nearly impossible to keep their footing. At one point, they passed a warm cave the size of a gymnasium filled with snake eggs, their tops covered with a layer of silver filaments like slimy Christmas tinsel.

More and more snake people joined their procession. Slithering behind her, they sounded like an army of football players shuffling with sandpaper on their cleats.

Piper wondered how many gemini lived down here. Hundreds, maybe thousands.

She thought she heard her own heartbeat echoing through the corridors, getting louder and louder the deeper they went. Then she realized the persistent boom ba-boom was all around them, resonating through the stone and the air.

_ I wake. _ A woman’s voice, as clear as Piper’s singing.

Alex froze. “Oh, that’s not good. Did you hear that?”

“I heard it,” Magnus said.

The voice of Gaea spoke again, louder:  _ At last. _

“Creepy, party of one,” Magnus muttered.

Piper probably should have felt afraid, but her singing never wavered.

Finally they reached the top of a steep slope, where the path ended in a curtain of green goo.

Kekrops faced the demigods. “Beyond this camouflage is the Acropolis. You must remain here. I will check that your way is clear.”

“Wait.” Piper turned to address the crowd of gemini. “There is only death above. You will be safer in the tunnels. Hurry back. Forget you saw us. Protect yourselves.”

The snake people, even the guards, turned and slithered into the darkness, leaving only the king.

“Kekrops,” Piper said, “you’re planning to betray us as soon as you step through that goo.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “I will alert the giants. They will destroy you.” Then he hissed. “Why did I tell you that?”

“Listen to the heartbeat of Gaea,” Piper urged. “You can sense her rage, can’t you?”

Kekrops wavered. The end of his staff glowed dimly. “I can, yes. She is angry.”

“She’ll destroy everything,” Piper said. “She’ll reduce the Acropolis to a smoking crater. Athens—your city—will be utterly destroyed, your people along with it. You believe me, don’t you?”

“I—I do.”

“Whatever hatred you have for humans, for demigods, for Athena, we are the only chance to stop Gaea. So you will not betray us. For your own sake, and your people, you will scout the territory and make sure the way is clear. You will say nothing to the giants. Then you will return.”

“That is… what I’ll do.” Kekrops disappeared through the membrane of goo.

“For a girl with no soul, that was awfully passionate,” Magnus said.

Piper shrugged. “I know it doesn’t make sense. I mean, I know there’s something I’m missing. My feelings and emotions. But I just… don’t have them. I have memories of them. I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”

“I bet,” Alex said. “Good job with Kekrops though.”

“We’ll see if it works.” Piper sat down on the cool stone floor. She figured she might as well rest while she could. The others squatted next to her. Magnus handed her a canteen of water. Until she took a drink, Piper hadn’t realized how dry her throat was. “Thanks.”

Magnus nodded. “You think the charm will last?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “If Kekrops comes back in two minutes with an army of giants, then no.” She frowned. “I tried to use his emotions to my advantage. Charmspeak is more powerful that way. But it’s hard when the Charmspeaker herself doesn’t know much about emotions in the first place.”

“You just… forgot emotions?” Alex asked.

Piper shrugged. “I didn’t forget them. I just forgot how to feel them.” She hesitated. Now or never. “I… I know I hurt you. Back when Anteros first shot me. Those memories have slowly been coming back. I told you that you couldn’t decide your own gender. That was wrong. And… I know you probably don’t believe me, but I  _ am  _ sorry. It was like everything was ramped up to a hundred in the worst possible way. All the bad stuff was super charged and I just… exploded in all the ways I knew how to hurt everyone. But I don’t think that way. You’re Alex Fierro. You’re cool and special and awesome and amazing.”

“I know,” Alex said quietly. “I know you didn’t mean it. Which makes it worse. Because when I remember that moment, it’s my friend’s face looking at me. And once you’re fixed, you’re going to remember that and really feel bad because some stuck up god had to butt his nose into your life. And it’s all because Magnus and I are wanted by my mother. So that’s great to have on my conscience.” He looked at Piper. “It wasn’t you talking. I know that. I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at the gods. My mom, Anteros, Himeros, Eros. I want to hunt them down and give them a good slap in the face. They made my friend who is a wonderful person say horrible things. Things about me and things about my other friends. Things she didn’t even mean. That’s not cool.” He offered Piper a small smile. “Friends?”

“Friends,” she agreed.

Alex was too forgiving. Anyone who was friends with Alex… well, Piper hoped they knew exactly the kind of blessing they had.

“You’ll probably get a much more sincere apology when I get my emotions back though,” Piper added.

“Ugh, gods, don’t let her make it too emotional.”

Piper laughed.

“You thought that was funny,” Alex said with a grin. “Maybe you  _ are  _ getting better.”

“Maybe.”

At the top of the tunnel, the green membrane rippled.

Piper grabbed her sword and rose, prepared for a flood of monsters.

But Kekrops emerged alone.

“The way is clear,” he said. “But hurry. The ceremony is almost complete.”

That was kind of a mood killer.


	11. Heroes Persevere and Endure Despite Overwhelming Odds

IT WAS JUST ONE DISASTER AFTER ANOTHER.

Piper, Alex, and Magnus disguised as monsters a la Hazel’s Mist had infiltrated the monster and giants gathering. However, the giants had managed to capture Alex and Magnus and were under the impression that Alex was Percy and Magnus was Annabeth. Naturally, the giants wanted to try to spill the Blood of Olympus. And they’d succeeded in making Alex and Magnus bleed.

Unfortunately for the giants, Alex and Magnus were Norse for one. They were also both currently male. Piper allowed herself to wonder what would have happened if the blood had worked and Alex had been female at the time. Would Gaea go back to sleep on the days Alex was male after that? Honestly, that would be slightly amusing.

All that aside, things seemed to be looking up until Piper was cut by debris and Frank got a bloody nose. Since Piper was Greek and female and Frank was Roman and male, yeah, their blood worked and Gaea woke.

It was then—and  _ only _ then—that the clouds parted over the Acropolis, and the gods charged down from on high.

_ A little late to the party, _ Piper bitterly thought.

The gods appeared on the ground surrounding the Seven. They were human-sized, but glowing with godly power. Just behind them—not human-sized—were the Titan Bob and the giant Damasen who Percy and Annabeth had freed from Tartarus.

“Bob?” Hazel asked in astonishment. “Damasen?”

The Titan and the giant grinned from behind the gods.

“We found them just outside,” a man with a Hawaiian shirt said. He had black hair and twinkling sea green eyes. Percy’s dad, Poseidon.

Jason let out a shout and charged at Porphyrion. Made sense. The bane of Zeus needed fighting, so why not have father and son fight him together. Which meant that Piper would be looking for Periboia to fight with Aphrodite.

Piper and her friends followed Jason into battle. Piper’s eyes were locked onto the female bane of Aphrodite. As she ran, she could hear Magnus’s sword Jack singing what she could have sworn was the “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin.

“We come from the land of the ice and snow,” the sword trilled. “From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow.”

Yep. The sword was singing the “Immigrant Song”. The reason? Piper had no idea. At least it was a catchy song and made for some pretty awesome fighting music.

Piper approached Periboia with her Boread sword. It couldn’t kill a giant on its own, but freezing a giant? It could handle that just fine.

She fenced with the giantess Periboia, sword against sword. Aphrodite floated around the giantess as she fought Piper. The goddess threw rose petals in the giantess’s eyes and called encouragement to Piper.

“Lovely, my dear. Yes, good. Hit her again!”

_ Thanks, mom, _ Piper thought dully as she struck at Periboia.

At least Aphrodite was helpful for something. Whenever Periboia tried to strike, doves rose up from nowhere and fluttered in the giantess’s face.

Piper finally managed to strike what would have normally been a killing blow to the chest on a normal monster, but what needed an extra boost of godly power to work on a giant. A torrent of doves fluttered around Piper and dive bombed the area on Periboia’s chest around where Piper’s sword was sticking out.

The giantess let out a shriek before she dissolved into a pile of dust.

“Oh, Piper,” Aphrodite began with a sparkle in her eyes. “I’m so proud of you! I—”

Just then, Jason and Zeus entered the Parthenon. When had they left? Sometime during the battle apparently. But that didn’t matter now. It was quite clear from the look on Zeus’s face that talking could wait. The king of the gods had more important business to address.

Leo and Hephaestus moored the  _ Argo II _ to the top of the Parthenon. Half the ship’s oars were broken off or tangled. Smoke streamed from several large splits in the hull. The sails were peppered with burning holes. Then Hephaestus flashed down to the ground with Leo.

Leo looked almost as bad as his ship. He moved to stand in the midst of the temple with Piper and the other crew members, his face covered in soot, his clothes smouldering.

The gods fanned out in a semicircle as Zeus approached. None of them seemed particularly joyful about their victory.

Apollo and Artemis stood together in the shadow of a column, as if trying to hide. Athena and Poseidon were standing next to each other, not speaking, but looking rather melancholy. Hera was having an intense discussion with another goddess in green and gold robes—perhaps Demeter. Nike tried to put a golden laurel wreath on Hecate’s head, but the goddess of magic swatted it away. Hermes sneaked close to Athena, attempting to put his arm around her. Athena turned her aegis shield his way and Hermes scuffled off.

The only Olympian who seemed in a good mood was Ares. He laughed and pantomimed gutting an enemy while Frank listened, his expression polite but queasy.

“Brethren,” Zeus said, “we are healed, thanks to the work of these demigods. The Athena Parthenos, which once stood in this temple, now stands at Camp Half-Blood. It has united our offspring, and thus our own essences.”

Hazel’s head snapped up. “Are they okay? Reyna, Nico, Bianca, Coach Hedge?”

Zeus knitted his cloud-colored eyebrows. “They succeeded in their mission. As of this moment they are alive. Whether or not they are okay—”

“There is still work to be done,” Queen Hera interrupted. She spread her arms like she wanted a group hug. “But my heroes… you have triumphed over the giants as I knew you would. My plan succeeded beautifully.”

_ If by beautiful you mean horrible, yeah, _ Piper snorted.

Zeus turned on his wife. Thunder shook the Acropolis. “Hera, do not dare take credit! You have caused at least as many problems as you’ve fixed!”

The queen of heaven blanched. “Husband, surely you see now—this was the only way.”

“There is never only one way!” Zeus bellowed. “That is why there are three Fates, not one. Is this not so?”

By the ruins of the giant king’s throne, the three old ladies silently bowed their heads in recognition. Piper noticed that the other gods stayed well away from the Fates and their gleaming brass clubs.

“Please, husband.” Hera tried for a smile, but she was clearly frightened. “I only did what I—”

“Silence!” Zeus snapped. “You disobeyed my orders. And you have brought  _ those  _ demigods further into our world.”

Alex and Magnus looked indignant. “Those demigods?” Alex sputtered. “You’re welcome for saving your sorry—”

Magnus elbowed him.

Hera scowled. “Percy Jackson did  _ that _ . I warned him not to let them help. I told him they would only bring him trouble, but he did not listen. Now look what has happened.”

“Do  _ not  _ blame my son,” Poseidon said lowly.

“Father,” Athena interjected. “Hera was not completely without wisdom. For the most part, her plan to unite the seven heroes of the prophecy worked.” Her grey eyes fixed on the Queen of the Heavens. “Even though it was at the cost of my daughter and Jackson.”

“They’re dead?” Jason asked.

Piper felt oddly about that. It was strange. Maybe Alex  _ was _ right. She was getting some emotion back.

Or maybe, a voice suggested, maybe you just feel back because that’s two less people who can defeat Gaea.

“No, no, no,” Bob said happily. “Percy and Annabeth friends are on their way to help. Yes, they are.”

“Here?” Frank asked hopefully.

Bob tilted his head. “No. Not here. Somewhere else.”

“How do you know that?” Piper asked.

Seriously, how and why should they trust a Titan at his word that Percy and Annabeth weren’t there. Maybe Percy and Annabeth trusted him, but in Piper’s eyes, it should have been suspicious that the Titan and the giant escaped Tartarus because Percy and Annabeth let them.

“Bob is different,” the Titan said.

That wasn’t exactly the answer Piper was looking for.

“Yes, well,” Zeus cleared his throat. “Apollo!” He glared into the shadows where the twins were standing. “My son, come here.”

Apollo inched forward like he was walking the plank. The Three Fates gathered around the god, circling him, their withered hands raised.

“Twice you have defied me,” Zeus said.

Apollo moistened his lips. “My—my lord—”

“You neglected your duties. You succumbed to flattery and vanity. You encouraged your descendant Octavian to follow his dangerous path, and you prematurely revealed a prophecy that may yet destroy us all.”

“But—”

“Enough!” Zeus boomed. “We will speak of your punishment later. For now, you will wait on Olympus.”

Zeus flicked his hand, and Apollo turned into a cloud of glitter. The Fates swirled around him, dissolving into air, and the glittery whirlwind shot into the sky.

“What will happen to him?” Jason asked.

Piper looked at Jason incredulously. Gaea was awake. They still needed  _ all _ of the Seven to defeat her. If Jason got himself vaporized now, what would happen to the mission?

“It is not your concern,” Zeus said. “We have other problems to address.”

An uncomfortable silence settled over the Parthenon.

“Father,” Jason said, “I made a vow to honor all the gods. I promised that once this war is over none of the gods would be without shrines at the camps.”

Piper rolled her eyes. Of course Jason wouldn’t let it drop.

Zeus scowled. “That’s fine. But what does that have to do with anything?”

“My point,” Jason said, “is that blaming each other isn’t going to solve anything. That’s how the Romans and Greeks got divided in the first place.”

The air became dangerously ionized. Piper glared at Jason, waiting for him to shut up.

Jason kept talking. “Apollo wasn’t the problem. To punish him for Gaea waking is—” he paused “—unwise.”

“Unwise.” Zeus’s voice was almost a whisper. “Before the assembled gods, you would call me unwise.”

_ This is it, _ Piper sighed.  _ This is how our quest fails. Jason pissed off his dad and got vaporized. _

Then Artemis stepped out of the shadows. “Father, this hero has fought long and hard for our cause. His nerves are frayed. We should take that into account.”

Jason started to protest, but Artemis stopped him with a glance.

_ Thank you, Artemis! _ Piper prayed.

“Surely, Father,” the goddess continued, “we should attend to our more pressing problems, as you pointed out.”

Exactly.

“Gaea’s awake,” Piper said bluntly. She had to refocus everyone on the mission.

Aphrodite winced. “Yes, that’s correct. The blood of Olympus was spilled. She is fully conscious.”

“You must move quickly,” Athena said. “Gaea rises to destroy your camp.”

“And your friends Perry and Annie Bell are on their way there,” Dionysus said, speaking up for the first time. “Ariadne has shown them their path.”

“You mean they got out!” Magnus grinned. “They’re okay!”

Dionysus scowled. “Yes, yes. More brats for me to deal with.”

Athena and Poseidon glared at the wine god.

“Why would Gaea be back at camp?” Leo asked. “The blood of Olympus was spilled here.”

“Destroying Camp Half-Blood is the first item on her to-do list,” Alex said. “That’s literally all she could talk about.”

Frank looked at Zeus. “Um, sir, Your Majesty, can’t you gods just pop over there with us? You’ve got the chariots and the magic powers and whatnot.”

“Yes!” Hazel said. “We defeated the giants together in two seconds. Let’s all go—”

“No,” Zeus said flatly.

“No?” Jason asked. “But, Father—”

Zeus’s eyes sparked with power.

Piper groaned, waiting for the bolt to hit Jason.  _ Shut up, dummy, _ she sighed.

“That’s the problem with prophecies,” Zeus growled. “When Apollo allowed the Prophecy of Seven to be spoken, and when Hera took it upon herself to interpret the words, the Fates wove the future in such a way that it had only so many possible outcomes, so many solutions. You seven, the demigods, are destined to defeat Gaea. We, the gods, cannot.”

Well that was a stupid rule.

“What’s the point of being gods if you have to rely on puny mortals to do your bidding?” Piper asked.

Aphrodite sent her a sad look. “It’s what binds us together, keeps us eternal. We need you mortals as much as you need us. And… my daughter… I am sorry for what has happened to you.”

Piper resisted a sigh. Everyone was so freaking sorry and no one could do a damn thing.

“Can  _ you  _ do anything about it?” Jason asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Aphrodite sighed. “True love is rare and beautiful. It is the only thing that can reverse the lead arrow’s effects. But I cannot create love out of nothing just for my daughter’s sake. This will have to be undone in time.”

_ Yay, me, _ Piper thought sarcastically.

Frank shuffled uncomfortably. “So how can we possibly get to Camp Half-Blood in time to save it? It took us months to reach Greece.”

That was actually a good question.

“The winds,” Jason said. “Father, can’t you unleash the winds to send our ship back?”

Zeus glowered. “I could slap you back to Long Island.”

“Um, was that a joke, or a threat, or—”

“No,” Zeus said, “I mean it quite literally. I could slap your ship back to Camp Half-Blood, but the force involved…”

Over by the ruined giant throne, Hephaestus shook his head. “My boy Leo built a good ship, but it won’t sustain that kind of stress. It would break apart as soon as it arrived, maybe sooner.”

Leo straightened his tool belt. “The  _ Argo II _ can make it. It only has to stay in one piece long enough to get us back home. Once there, we can abandon ship.”

“Dangerous,” warned Hephaestus. “Perhaps fatal.”

The goddess Nike twirled a laurel wreath on her finger. “Victory is always dangerous. And it often requires sacrifice. Leo Valdez and I have discussed this.” She stared pointedly at Leo.

Something prodded at the back of Piper’s mind, but she pushed it away. They had to get back to New York as fast as they could if they stood a chance at defeating Gaea.

“Leo,” Hazel said, “what is Nike talking about?”

Leo waved off the question. “The usual. Victory. Sacrifice. Blah, blah, blah. Doesn’t matter. We can do this, guys. We have to do this.”

“Leo’s right,” Jason said. “All aboard for one last trip.” He looked at Bob and Damasen. “Thank you.”

“We should team up more often!” Ares roared, thumping Damasen on the back. “That was awesome!”

Damasen gave the war god a small smile, but he looked like he wanted someone to please get Ares far away from him.

“Say hello to Percy and Annabeth for us,” Damasen said to Jason. “We’ll try to get there eventually, but…”

“We will,” Jason promised.

Piper rolled her eyes. Making promises to giants now. Just what they needed before the fight with Gaea.


	12. The Shortest Lived Profession is Hero

QUITE FRANKLY, SHE HATED THE PLAN. Which should have meant something considering hate was kind of an emotional response and Piper wasn’t supposed to be able to feel those anymore.

But, alas, no one paid Piper any mind about that. No, Leo just strapped everybody into his giant flying death trap and waited for Zeus to slap them across the sky.

Piper didn’t get to see how that happened. She was jammed into the cabin with Frank, Hazel, Magnus, and Alex, holding onto the guide rope that was attached to the mast.

“Let’s go!” Hazel yelled over the roar coming from outside the cabin. She and Frank staggered towards the door and pushed open the hatch door which threatened to tear off its hinges. Alex and Magnus followed after them with Piper bringing up the rear.

Outside, the sky was black. The ship rattled and creaked. The deck dracked like thin ice and the ship made sonic booms as it hurtled through the clouds.

Leo was lashed to the control console, desperately trying to right the ship as they spiralled downward in free fall. The sails were on fire. Festus creaked in alarm. A catapult peeled away and lifted into the air. Centrifugal force sent the shields flying off the railings like metal Frisbees. Wider cracks opened in the deck and Jason staggered towards the group of demigods.

“Go!” Leo yelled. “Go, go, go!”

For once, Leo’s tone was deadly serious.

Piper seriously could not reiterate how dumb this whole plan was. The chances of survival were  _ not _ very high. All throughout the time they talked over the evacuation plan, Piper wanted to protest and suggest another way. Unfortunately, this  _ was _ the quickest way back and time definitely would not be on the crew’s side if they didn’t do this.

Buford the table startled everyone. He clattered across the deck with his holographic Hedge blaring, “LET’S GO! MOVE IT! CUT THAT OUT!”

Then his tabletop split into helicopter blades and Buford buzzed away.

Frank and Alex changed form and became a dragon and a pegasus respectively. Hazel climbed onto Frank’s neck and Magnus climbed onto Alex’s back. The two shapeshifters spread their wings and soared away.

Jason finally made his way to Piper, struggling against the winds. The wind whipped at his blonde hair, spiking it up while Piper’s hair just smacked her face like a whip. Jason’s arm wrapped around Piper’s waist.

“Leo, you won’t make it!” Jason shouted. “Come with us!”

“No!” Leo yelled. “Get out of here! I told you, I’ve got a plan. Now shoo!”

Piper could feel the hesitation, but Leo was right. If Jason didn’t fly out of here with her now, they’d both die. They would have to hope Leo had a plan to get out. Piper really hoped that was true because this wasn’t over yet and they needed Leo to help defeat Gaea.

Jason harnessed the winds, and he and Piper shot into the sky.

* * *

The ground was a sea of monsters and demigods. But mostly monsters.

As they plummeted, Piper saw a vast army of monsters spread across the hills—cynocephali, two-headed men, wild centaurs, ogres and others she didn’t know the names of—surrounding two tiny islands of demigods. At the crest of Half-Blood Hill, gathered at the feet of the Athena Parthenos, was the main force of Camp Half-Blood along with a group of Romans, rallied around the golden eagle of the legion. The other Romans were in a defensive formation several hundred yards away and seemed to be taking the brunt of the attack.

Giant eagles circled Piper and Jason, screeching.

Frank and Alex flew alongside with Hazel and Magnus.

“Hazel!” Jason yelled. “Those three cohorts are in trouble! If they don’t merge with the rest of the demigods—”

“On it!” Hazel said. “Go, Frank!”

Dragon Frank veered to the left.

“Magnus, Alex, go with them!” Jason called.

“Let’s get ‘em!” Magnus yelled, Jack raised high in the air.

Piper and Jason veered right towards the summit of Half-Blood Hill. She could see Nico down on the ground fighting and Reyna shouting orders from atop a pegasus. The only thing she didn’t see was Gaea. Which was strange and worrying.

Jason landed on the hill and set Piper down. They drew their swords and Piper heard a cheer go up from the Greeks and Romans.

“About time!” Reyna called. “Glad you could join us!” She was looking at Piper.

Piper grinned. “We had some giants to kill!”  _ Now it’s Dirt Face’s turn, _ she added.

“Excellent!” Reyna returned the smile. “Help yourself to some barbarians.”

“Why, thank you!”

Piper dove into the battle with Reyna. They worked fluidly as a team.

“Oh my gods what’s that?” Piper shouted, pointing behind a group of cynocephali. The cynocephali looked back and Piper’s Boread sword turned them to shattered ice.

“Where’d you get that sword?” Reyna yelled as she cut down two centaurs.

Piper twirled it. “Stole it. From a god. I needed it more than him.”

Reyna looked impressed.

Piper examined the fighting around them. The Greeks and Romans slowly pushed back the enemies. Wild centaurs toppled. Wolf-headed men howled as they were cut to ashes. More monsters kept appearing—karpoi grain spirits swirling out of the grass, gryphons diving from the sky, lumpy clay humanoids.

“They’re ghosts with earthen shells!” Piper heard Nico warn. “Don’t let them hit you!”

Obviously Gaea had kept some surprises in reserve.

Piper gritted her teeth. Where the Hades was Gaea? Normally, she wouldn’t be too eager for the goddess to show up, but her absence was really getting on Piper’s nerves.

Someone yelled, “Unconventional my a—” A roar drowned out the rest of their sentence.

The ghosts with earthen shells dissolved into monster dust. Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson stood in the piles of dust.

“Sorry we’re late,” Annabeth breathed. “We ran into a little trouble, but, uh,” she gestured to the monster dust. “You’re welcome.”

Piper actually was relieved. The Seven demigods of the prophecy according to the new timeline after all the changes the time travelers made were still alive and ready to fight Gaea, and now the two time travelers that knew how to defeat Gaea and who were supposed to be part of the Seven were now back. The mission felt more achievable than ever.

“You’re back!” Nico exclaimed, flinging his arms around Annabeth and Percy.

“Didn’t know you missed us that much,” Percy grinned. “Yeah, we’re back.”

It didn’t take too long for that news to spread.

“Percy and Annabeth are back!” someone yelled. A cheer rose from the Greeks.

Percy fell in besides Piper. He grinned at her. “What’s up, Piper? Long time.”

“Just don’t screw this up,” Piper said in response. “We’re close to winning.”

Percy looked taken aback by her response, but Piper ignored him as she engaged an ogre in battle. The ogre used it’s club to knock Piper’s sword out of her hands. The sword must have hit something because a flurry of snowflakes blew Piper’s way directly following a yelp of pain.

A knife sailed over Piper’s shoulder and hit the ogre, dissolving it to monster dust. Piper cautiously picked up the knife.

“You’re welcome,” Annabeth said, appearing at her side and taking back her dagger.

Reyna yelled, “Eiaculare flammas!” and a wave of flaming arrows arced over the legion’s shield wall, destroying a platoon of ogres. The Roman ranks moved forward, impaling centaurs and trampling wounded ogres under their bronze-tipped boots.

Somewhere downhill, Frank yelled: “Repellere equites!”

A massive herd of centaurs parted in a panic as the legion’s other three cohorts ploughed through in perfect formation, their spears bright with monster blood. Frank marched before them. On the left flank, riding Arion, Hazel beamed with pride.

“Ave, Praetor Zhang!” Reyna called.

“Ave, Praetor Ramírez-Arellano!” Frank said. “Let’s do this. Legion, CLOSE RANKS!”

A cheer went up among the Romans as the five cohorts melded into one massive killing machine. Frank pointed his sword forward and, from the golden eagle standard, tendrils of lightning swept across the enemy, turning several hundred monsters to toast.

“Legion, cuneum formate!” Reyna yelled. “Advance!”

Percy winked at Piper and Annabeth. He cupped a hand around his mouth. “Greeks!” he yelled. “Let’s, um, fight stuff!”

Annabeth rolled her eyes as the Greeks yelled like banshees and charged.

“Almost three years to think about this moment and he has to say the same Seaweed Brain stuff,” she said, shaking her head fondly. She started to move, but then the earth rippled.

Demigods fell. Ogres slipped. Centaurs charged face-first into the grass.

_ AWAKE, _ a voice boomed all around them.

A hundred yards away, at the crest of the next hill, the grass and soil swirled upward like the point of a massive drill. The column of earth thickened into the twenty-foot-tall figure of a woman—her dress woven from blades of grass, her skin as white as quartz, her hair brown and tangled like tree roots.

Piper cursed.  _ Gaea. _

Now that the goddess was here, Piper kinda wished she hadn’t asked for it to happen sooner.

“Little fools.” Gaea the Earth Mother opened her pure green eyes. “The paltry magic of your statue cannot contain me.”

Piper glanced at the Athena Parthenos.  _ Huh. Go figure. _ She was brought back to the issue at hand when a wave of fear washed over the demigod army. Like with the mahki, it didn't have an effect on her.

“Stand fast!” she shouted, her charmspeak clear and loud. “Greeks and Romans, we can fight her together!”

Gaea laughed. She spread her arms and the earth bent towards her—trees tilting, bedrock groaning, soil rippling in waves. Nearby, Jason rose on the wind, but all around him monsters and demigods alike started to sink into the ground. One of Octavian’s onagers capsized and disappeared into the side of the hill. Piper’s heels started to sink into the soft earth.

“The whole earth is my body,” Gaea boomed. “How would you fight the goddess of—”

_ FOOOOMP! _

In a flash of bronze, Gaea was swept off the hillside, snarled in the claws of a fifty-ton metal dragon. Festus, reborn, rose into the sky on gleaming wings, spewing fire from his maw triumphantly. As he ascended, the rider on his back got smaller and more difficult to discern, but Leo’s grin was unmistakable.

“Pipes! Jason!” he shouted down. “You coming? The fight is up here!”

Piper’s jaw dropped. Leo had rebuilt Festus somehow and he now had Gaea high in the sky, away from her element. All around Piper, the ground was solidifying. Lucky for her, she only had to pull her heels out of the ground, but some demigods were completely buried to their waists and they weren’t digging themselves out as quick as the monsters were.

_ As long as Gaea dies today, it doesn’t matter, _ Piper reminded herself.

_ But doesn’t it? _ A little voice asked.  _ Shouldn’t you care a little bit? _

Piper didn’t have time to think about that. Jason’s arms wrapped around her waist again and he prepared to take off when Percy yelled, “Wait!”

The son of Poseidon fought his way over and looked Jason and Piper in the eyes. “Good luck. Say hi to Leo for me. Make sure he knows Annabeth and I are okay.”

Jason nodded. “I will.”

At that moment a flood of monsters swept over the Greek forces.

“Yo! Newly returned peeps!” Alex called to Percy and Annabeth. “A little help?”

Percy and Annabeth ran to join him. Frank and Hazel turned to Jason and Piper. They raised their arms in the Roman salute (which probably meant hey were only looking at Jason), then ran off to regroup the legion.

Jason and Piper spiralled upward on the wind.

“You have the cure?” Jason asked.

Piper nodded. “Got it.”

As they ascended, Jason gathered the wind and clouds around him. The sky responded with frightening speed. Soon they were in the eye of a maelstrom. Lightning burned and thunder clashed.

Directly above them, Festus grappled with the earth goddess. Gaea kept disintegrating, trying to trickle back to the ground, but the winds kept her aloft. Festus sprayed her with flames, which seemed to force her into solid form. Meanwhile, from Festus’s back, Leo blasted the goddess with flames of his own and hurled insults. “Potty Sludge! Dirt Face! THIS IS FOR MY MOTHER, ESPERANZA VALDEZ!”

His whole body was wreathed in fire. Rain hung in the stormy air, but it only sizzled and steamed around him.

Jason zoomed with Piper towards them.

Gaea turned into loose white sand, but Jason summoned a squadron of venti who churned around her, constraining her in a cocoon of wind.

_ Good, _ Piper thought.  _ Keep her off the ground. _

Gaea fought back. When she wasn’t disintegrating, she lashed out with shrapnel blasts of stone and soil that Jason barely deflected. Piper wasn’t worried for their safety so much as she was worried that Jason would give out before they could finish the mission. Of everything Jason had done so far, this was probably going to take the most out of him. If he couldn’t keep the winds going long enough for Piper and Leo to do their jobs… Gaea would win.

Together they rose. Festus creaked and groaned with the effort, but he continued to gain altitude.

“YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!” Gaea crumbled to sand, only to get blasted by more flames. Her body melted into a lump of glass, shattered, then re-formed again as human. “I AM ETERNAL!”

“Eternally annoying!” Leo yelled, and he urged Festus higher.

Jason and Piper rose with them.

“Get me closer,” Piper urged. “I need to be next to her.”

“Piper, the flames and the shrapnel—”

“Just do it, weather boy,” she snapped.

“Weather boy?” Jason asked.

Nevertheless, he moved until he was holding Piper right next to Gaea. The winds encased the goddess, keeping her solid. Her eyes were solid green, like all nature had been condensed into a few spoonfuls of organic matter.

“FOOLISH CHILDREN!” Her face contorted with miniature earthquakes and mudslides.

“You are so weary,” Piper told the goddess, her voice radiating kindness and sympathy. She forced all her charmspeak into her voice. “Eons of pain and disappointment weigh on you.”

“SILENCE!”

The winds faltered around them. Piper felt Jason dip, but then Festus caught them in his other huge claw. Piper ignored it. For this to work, she would have to do what she did all those months ago in the Wolf House, only this time it would need to be much more powerful.

“Millennia of sorrow,” she told Gaea. “Your husband Ouranos was abusive. Your grandchildren the gods overthrew your beloved children the Titans. Your other children, the Cyclopes and the Hundred-Handed Ones, were thrown into Tartarus. You are so tired of heartache.”

“LIES!” Gaea crumbled into a tornado of soil and grass, but her essence seemed to churn more sluggishly.

“What you want,” Piper continued, “more than victory, more than revenge… you want rest. You are so weary, so incomprehensibly tired of the ungrateful mortals and immortals.”

“I—YOU DO NOT SPEAK FOR ME—YOU CANNOT—”

“You want one thing,” Piper said soothingly, her voice resonating through Jason’s bones. “One word. You want permission to close your eyes and forget your troubles. You—want—SLEEP.”

On the last word, Piper both yelled and poured every ounce of charmspeak she had left into the word. Gaea solidified into human form. Her head lolled, her eyes closed, and she went limp in Festus’s claw, but Piper knew this wouldn’t last long.

The wind died down. The storm dissipated.

“Leo!” Piper called. “We only have a few seconds. My charmspeak won’t—”

“I know!” Leo looked like he was made of fire. Flames rippled beneath his skin, illuminating his skull. Festus steamed and glowed. “I can’t contain the fire much longer. I’ll vaporize her. Don’t worry. But you guys need to leave.”

Something itched at the back of Piper’s mind.

“No!” Jason said. “We have to stay with you. Piper’s got the cure. Percy and Annabeth just got back to us! Leo, you can’t—”

“Hey.” Leo grinned, which was unnerving in the flames, his teeth like molten silver ingots. “I told you I had a plan. When are you going to trust me? And by the way—I love you guys.”

Festus’s claw opened, and Jason and Piper fell.

_ I love you guys. _

Piper’s vision tunneled until all she could see was Leo and Festus on fire. The sounds of the battle below faded into the background. Time seemed to stand still.

_ I love you guys. _

She stared up at Leo in shock, Jason’s arms held her close to his body as they plummeted towards the earth.

_ I love you guys. _

They got further and further away from Leo and Festus, but Piper could see them as clearly as if she was hovering next to them still. Leo looked grim and determined, but relaxed. Flames wreathed his head like laurels. And then a blazing ball of fire flew towards Leo and Festus.

_ I love you guys. _

Piper’s heart dropped like a stone. She might have screamed as the ball collided with Leo as an explosion rocked the sky, turning it gold.

_ I love you guys. _

Piper felt like someone was stabbing her multiple times in the chest. Something wet streaked down her cheeks. Tears. She was  _ crying. _ Piper turned and buried her face in Jason’s chest.

_ I love you guys. _

Piper had needed an act of true love to null the effects of the lead arrow. She’d gotten that, but at a high cost.

Because Leo Valdez was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was I trying to figure out how to make myself cry at the end of this chapter? Yes, yes, I was.
> 
> Gah, I have a thing for the sad fics lately. Been reading a lot of various sad, death fics because going back to school this month wasn't sad enough.


	13. Heroes Serve Others No Matter the Cost

PIPER FELT NUMB.

It was strange. After so long of not feeling anything, now that she could feel again, all she felt was numbness and emptiness.

Oh, she had felt sadness, grief, anger, and disbelief right after Leo’s death. She felt like she had back when she was first shot with a lead arrow. All her emotions were ramped up to a hundred, but this time instead of hate, it was the opposite. And it  _ hurt _ so badly.

She could feel the adoration Percy and Annabeth had for each other. She could feel the pride Reyna felt for her legion. She could feel the joy everyone felt for Gaea finally being defeated.

And that just wasn’t  _ fair _ because Leo was dead. Leo was dead and he couldn’t feel any of that ever again. He’d never feel joy for Gaea’s defeat, or love for someone special because he would never get that chance now.

When the Roman eagles caught Piper and Jason from the sky, Piper didn’t move from the spot they put her down in. Neither did Jason, but Piper wasn’t sure if that was because he was exhausted from the use of his powers or if that was because her charmspeak had him half-asleep.

After the battle, Jason had managed to carry Piper to the infirmary, stumbling as he went. He set her down on one of the beds and collapsed into the chair beside it. Piper curled up on the bed, tears silently pouring down her face until she fell into a dreamless sleep.

When she woke up, someone was speaking to Jason in a low voice.

“—be okay,” the person said.

Piper opened her eyes to see Will Solace standing next to Jason who looked a lot better than he had earlier, though his face was wracked with grief.

“I’ll check her out,” Will continued. “If the lead arrow is still affecting her, I’ll let you know, but I think… I think Leo’s sacrifice did the trick.”

Piper closed her eyes tightly. So she hadn’t imagined it. Leo was dead.

“Piper?” Will called.

She opened her eyes again to see Will giving her a small smile.

“What?” she whispered.

“How are you feeling?” Will asked.

Piper laughed hollowly. “I don’t know. Is there a word to describe a piece of your heart being ripped out and thrown into a blender and sauteed into a liquid that you just pour down the drain anyway?” She blinked, vision blurring. “Leo, my friend, my  _ brother, _ is dead. And he’s  _ never _ coming back because… because…” she trailed off, choking back sobs. “I didn’t care! I said that I had to do anything to defeat Gaea, no matter the cost. I… I…”

“Piper,” Will said firmly, grabbing her wrist and holding it tightly. He was like a reassuring presence. Warmth bloomed from where he was holding her wrist. “Calm down. Deep breaths. In and out.”

Piper took a shuddering breath and let it out. Will did his best to match her and they inhaled and exhaled in sync for a few minutes.

“Good,” Will said. He placed his other hand over her wrist. “Jason told me about the arrow. Kayla checked earlier and said she couldn’t feel it, but she asked me to double check. I can’t feel any traces of it in your system either. I want to have Lou Ellen check though. She’s the expert on magic. Maybe Alabaster too. But other than that, how do you feel?”

“Tired,” she said hoarsely. “Drained.”

Will nodded. “Makes sense. You used a considerable amount of power on Gaea. It might take a couple days to heal completely. You’ve actually been asleep since yesterday afternoon. Almost a full twenty four hours.” He hesitated. “If you aren’t injured, you’re free to leave once Lou and Alabaster clear you. It’s kind of crowded here and I think you’d rest better in Cabin 10 anyway. Just don’t exert yourself too much.”

Piper slowly sat up. “Yeah. Okay. Um, are they here?”

“I sent Kayla to get them,” Will said. “They should be here any second now—Ah!”

A girl and a boy who looked remarkably similar walked up to Will.

“Piper, you know Lou Ellen,” Will said. “Daughter of Hecate. This is her brother Alabaster Torrington.”

Alabaster nodded at Piper. “Nice to meet you.”

Lou Ellen turned her concerned eyes on Will. “Kayla said something about wanting us to check on an arrow wound?”

“Lead arrow,” Piper spoke up. She stared at her hands resting in her lap. “During the quest, I got hit with a lead arrow and… and we were told an act of true love could reverse the effects.”

“I just want another opinion on this,” Will explained. “Magic is your expertise.”

Lou Ellen studied Piper. “I mean, just on first glance, I’d say, yeah. I don’t mean to be crass, but you look like a wreck and I assume that’s because of Leo. If the arrow was still affecting you, you’d look  _ way _ better. No offense.”

“Lou,” Will said.

Alabaster reached for Piper’s hand. He stared at it for a moment. “It’s gone, yes. You’re a daughter of Aphrodite, correct?” At Piper’s nod he continued. “When you get back to your cabin, have Silena check, she’d be more familiar with love magic due to her parentage, but I wouldn’t worry about the arrow anymore.”

Piper rubbed her face. “Thanks. Um, I’ll head out now then.”

“Come back if you have any problems,” Will said. “Anything.”

Piper nodded as she stood up. “Thanks again, Will. And you too, Lou Ellen and Alabaster.”

* * *

On her way back to her cabin, Piper saw the Seven plus some gathering on the porch of the Big House.

“Piper,” Annabeth said, giving her a hug. “I was worried about you.”

Piper tried for a smile. “I’m okay. Will just released me.”

“They had the funerals last night,” Jason told her, shifting uncomfortably. “While you were asleep. I… I wasn’t there either.”

“Oh,” Piper said. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. For one, she wanted to go, but she wasn’t sure if she could have made it through the ceremony.

“I would have waited,” Nico said looking guilty. “But…”

“It’s fine,” Piper said quickly. “I… I’m glad it was you, Nico. I’m sure it was beautiful.”

Hazel squeezed her brother’s hand. “It was.”

They stood, sat, and leaned against the wall in silence.

“You knew,” Jason said, breaking the silence. “What Leo… what happened.”

“We knew,” Annabeth confirmed. “That was how it had to be.”

Piper’s gut twisted. Leo was  _ supposed to  _ die? That was why they had to get the cure? That was what the time travelers had been counting on?

She sniffed. “But you were wrong,” she said. “I messed it up.”

“You didn’t mess it up,” Jason assured her.

It was sweet of him, but it wasn’t true.

“Yes, I did,” Piper argued. “I have the cure. I couldn’t give it to him! Maybe if I actually had my… my emotions or whatever I could have saved him. All that work getting the physician’s cure, for nothing.”

It felt good to get that off her chest, but at the same time, Piper was scared that her friends would hate her. The stupid lead arrow messed everything up.

Hazel broke down crying. “Piper, where’s the cure? Bring it out.”

Bewildered, Piper reached into her belt pouch. It was still there since she hadn’t changed out of the clothes she had been wearing yesterday. She produced the chamois-cloth package, but when she unfolded the cloth it was empty.

All eyes turned to Hazel.

Frank put his arm around Hazel. “In Delos, Leo pulled the two of us aside. He pleaded with us to help him.”

Through her tears, Hazel explained how she had switched the physician’s cure for an illusion—a trick of the Mist—so that Leo could keep the real vial. Frank told them about Leo’s plan to destroy a weakened Gaea with one massive fiery explosion. After talking with Nike and Apollo, Leo had been certain that such an explosion would kill any mortal within a quarter of a mile, so he knew he would have to get far away from everyone.

“He wanted to do it alone,” Frank said. “He thought there would be a slim chance that he, a son of Hephaestus, could survive the fire, but if anyone was with him… He said that Hazel and I, being Roman, would understand about sacrifice. But he knew the rest of you would never allow it.”

“And that was how it was supposed to be,” Magnus said.

Percy nodded. “That’s what happened. Leo will be back.”

Piper allowed hope to rise in her chest. She looked toward Nico to confirm this.

Nico looked up. “Leo… it’s complicated. He’s dead. I feel that.”

Piper’s heart stopped.

“But he’s somewhere outside of time,” Nico continued. “It flows differently. For him, it’s probably only been seconds or minutes, barely enough time for the cure to even start working. But Percy’s right. He’ll be back.”

Piper let out a laugh mixed with a sob.  _ Leo’s going to come back! _ “If he were here right now, I would kill him.”

“Nico’s got that covered,” Percy grinned. “Are you still planning on forming the punching queue?”

Nico’s mouth stretched into a wide grin. “An excuse to hit Leo? Absolutely.”

Piper had no idea what that was about, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was that Leo was going to come back to them.

* * *

The next day, the second since the battle, Piper managed to get Alex alone.

“I’m so sorr—” Piper started only for Alex to groan.

“Gods, McLean, I said no apologies,” Alex grumbled. “We’ve been through this.”

Piper looked down. “I know, but there is  _ nothing _ I can do to make myself feel better than apologies a million times.”

Alex placed her hands on Piper’s shoulders. “Hey. Do  _ not _ beat yourself up about this. I’ve had a lot of time to think, okay? Yeah, it was awkward around you for a while, but I’m good. I promise. You’re my friend, Piper. Look, if I didn’t forgive everyone who said something like that and regretted it, I’m no better than the ones who don’t regret it.”

“You’re too good for this world, Alex,” Piper told her. “You know that? You… you are amazing and just… You deserve the best.”

Alex grinned. “I have some pretty good friends and a halfway decent boyfriend.”

Piper shook her head. “I don’t get you two.”

“Our relationship was founded on violent acts,” Alex said. “The first time we met, I was a rampaging cheetah that bowled him over. The second time we met, I cut off his head before Loki could explode him. Plus, after that we kind of fought and died together on a daily basis. I dragged him back to the Hotel to die a few times though.” Her face turned serious. “But don’t think that I don’t love Magnus, okay? Because I do. I know our relationship is different because of who we are—or who we will be if we make it to Valhalla again—and I know I tease him a lot, but I do love him. We just… I guess relationships are different when you know you’ve got till Ragnarok.”

“I get it,” Piper said. “I do. You’re perfect for each other. You get him and he gets you. It works.”

A faint smile graced Alex’s lips. “Yeah. You know, it’s weird that you said it like that. Maybe it has something to do with his dad, but Magnus always  _ knows _ what gender I am. Sometimes even before I do.” She shook her head. “It’s kind of weird, but in a good way.”

“Sounds like a match made in heaven,” Piper said. “Or Valhalla, I guess.”

“Yeah.” Alex gestured to the dining pavilion. “We should head to dinner.”

Piper nodded. “Yes. That sounds good.”

It was a struggle to get to Table 10. The dining hall pavilion had never been so crowded. The Romans were welcomed like old friends. Coach Hedge roamed among the demigods, beaming and holding his baby boy and saying, “Hey, you want to meet Chuck? This is my boy, Chuck!”

The Aphrodite and Athena girls alike cooed over the feisty little satyr baby, who waved his pudgy fists, kicked his tiny hooves and bleated, “Baaaa! Baaaa!”

Clarisse, who had been named the baby’s godmother, trailed behind the coach like a bodyguard and occasionally muttered, “All right, all right. Give the kid some space.”

It was rather cute in Piper’s opinion.

_ Cute. _ Piper’s lips twitched upwards. She could feel that something was cute.

At announcement time, Chiron stepped forward and raised his goblet.

“Out of every tragedy,” he said, “comes new strength. Today, we thank the gods for this victory. To the gods!”

The demigods all joined the toast, but their enthusiasm seemed muted.

Then Chiron said, “And to new friends!”

“TO NEW FRIENDS!”

Hundreds of demigod voices echoed across the hills.

At the campfire, everyone kept looking at the stars, as if they expected Leo to come back in some dramatic, last-minute surprise. Maybe he’d swoop in, jump off Festus’s back and launch into corny jokes. It didn’t happen. Piper didn’t know if she was relieved she didn’t have to face Leo so soon after his supposed death or if she was angry that he wasn’t here yet.

After a few songs, Reyna and Frank were called to the front. They got a thunderous round of applause from both the Greeks and Romans. Up on Half-Blood Hill, the Athena Parthenos glowed more brightly in moonlight, as if to signal:  _ These kids are all right. _

“Tomorrow,” Reyna said, “we Romans must return home. We appreciate your hospitality, especially since we almost killed you”—

“You almost got killed,” Annabeth corrected.

“Whatever, Chase.”

_ Oooooohhhhh! _ the crowd said as one. Then everybody started laughing and pushing each other around.

“Anyway,” Frank took over, “Reyna and I agree this marks a new era of friendship between the camps.”

Reyna clapped him on the back. “That’s right. For hundreds of years, the gods tried to separate us to keep us from fighting. But there’s a better kind of peace—cooperation.”

Piper couldn’t help herself. She stood up from the audience. “Are you sure your mom is a war goddess?”

“Yes, McLean,” Reyna said. “I still intend to fight a lot of battles. But from now on we fight together!”

That got a big cheer. Piper was sure she cheered the loudest.

Frank raised his hand for quiet. “You’ll all be welcome at Camp Jupiter. We’ve come to an agreement with Chiron: a free exchange between the camps—weekend visits, training programs and, of course, emergency aid in times of need—”

“And parties?” asked Dakota.

“Hear, hear!” said Connor Stoll.

Reyna spread her arms. “That goes without saying. We Romans invented parties.”

Another big _ Oooohhhhhhhh! _

“So thank you,” Reyna concluded. “All of you. We could’ve chosen hatred and war. Instead we found acceptance and friendship.”

Then Reyna walked over and hauled Nico and Bianca di Angelo to their feet and put her arms around their shoulders.

“We had one home,” she said. “One family. Now we have two.”

She gave Nico and Bianca a big hug and the crowd roared with approval. Piper guessed they had gotten close during the return trip with the Athena Parthenos. Nico at least seemed to be the most emotional. He looked like he was expecting this hug and he melted right into it. It was heartwarming to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I forgot about Piper's promise of another apology when I wrote BoO, so I added that in here with some bonus FierroChase stuff because I love them.


	14. Heroes Are Made in the Hour of Defeat

THE NEXT MORNING, Piper had Silena check on the lead arrow.

“It’s gone,” Silena reassured her. “Don’t worry, Piper. You’re back to normal.”

That was good, but Piper still felt like crap about it. She felt guilty for reveling in the emotions she could feel again last night. And despite what she had said to her friends, she wasn’t fine with everything. It didn’t matter that according to Percy and Annabeth and Nico, she hadn’t messed up the thing with Leo and the cure. She should have been able to figure out a way.

Of course, that was when Jason had to pile on something else to feel bad about.

Jason knocked on the door of the Aphrodite cabin. “Piper? Can we talk?”

Silena immediately ushered the Aphrodite kids still in the cabin out to give Piper and Jason some space. Piper appreciated it, but honestly, she didn’t want to be around anyone right now. She had been looking forward to time alone in her cabin.

“I’m fine,” she told Jason.

_ Lies, _ a voice in her head sang.

“The lead arrow is completely out of my system according to Kayla Knowles and Will Solace double checked to confirm it,” Piper continued. “I also asked Silena if she could sense anything, she said no. And I went to Lou Ellen and Alabaster. They both said I’m fine now.”

“This isn’t about that,” Jason said, sitting down across from Piper on one of her sisters’ beds. “I mean, not really. I mean, it kinda is, but…” he let out a breath and fell silent.

Piper frowned. “Jason, what’s wrong?”

“Croatia,” Jason blurted. “Um, you know how Nico asked me to go with him to Croatia because that’s how it was supposed to go?”

“To get Diocletian’s scepter,” Piper said nodding. “I remember.”

Why was Jason bringing this up now?

Jason squeezed his hands into fists so tight his knuckles turned white. “We didn’t meet his ghost like we let you all believe. Nico brought me because when we went the first time, it was Cupid we met and he… he forced Nico to come out in front of me.”

Piper raised her eyebrows. “Nico  _ liked  _ you? I thought he had a thing for Will Solace.” At least that had been the impression she’d gotten from the flirty conversations and the stolen glances ever since last December.

“He does,” Jason said quickly. “They, uh, they’re actually together now. I think. But, no. Nico didn’t have to admit to liking me. It was someone else. Um, the point is, Nico thought that was what was going to happen again this time. But he was wrong.”

Piper could guess where this was going. “You met the Erotes? Did you two anger them?”

Jason shook his head. He shut his eyes. “Gods, Piper… I… We met Cupid again, but… Cupid  _ tortured  _ Nico that first time. He forced Nico to reveal something he wasn’t ready to admit, but this time, Nico  _ could  _ admit it. He  _ wanted  _ to admit it. That’s not fun for Cupid.” Jason took a shaky breath. “He made me talk about my… feelings.”

“Boys and feelings,” Piper said. “Yeah, that’s not an easy subject.”

“Not all boys,” Jason said.

Piper was grateful for the familiar banter until it trailed off into uneasy silence. She could tell there was something on Jason’s mind, but he was clearly struggling to say it.

“Jason, whatever it is, I’m not going to judge you.”

He gave her a sad smile. “I know. But after the Erotes… it’s my fault you ended up like that. I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me after this.”

“How is it  _ your  _ fault for what a couple gods did?” Piper rolled her eyes. If Alex didn’t blame Piper for what she had said, Piper couldn’t blame Jason either. “Jason, you are not Aphrodite. You don’t control the Erotes. It’s literally impossible for it to be your—”

“He did it because you broke someone’s heart,” Jason interrupted. “Anteros is the god of requited love, but he’s the avenger of unrequited love. He only struck you with the lead arrow because you didn’t return someone’s love. He did it because I’m in love with you,” Jason’s voice cracked, “but you’re not in love with me. So yeah, it is my fault.” He let his head slump forward and hang low.

Piper stared at Jason. “You… you love me? But you said—”

“Why else would I agree to wait and take things slow?” Jason said. “You said you wanted to try to build a relationship on friendship, not what Hera did. Of course I agreed to that! I didn’t want to force you into a relationship that could hurt you in the end. But we  _ did  _ become friends. We were friends for months… and nothing happened.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Piper asked quietly.

“I’d rather be your friend than lose you forever,” Jason said. He looked up at her. “But then I almost  _ did  _ lose you. That arrow took the girl I loved away and I didn’t think I’d ever get her back. I did though. You’re you again.”

Piper blinked back tears. “Jason, I’m  _ sorry _ —”

“I know,” Jason assured her. He gave her a small smile. “I know. I didn’t tell you because I’m expecting you to say the same. You don’t love me. Not like that. I don’t think you ever did. I think you loved how you felt in the Mist memories. You deserve a lot better, Piper.”

She wiped her eyes. “You do too.” Piper stood up. “Can I hug you? Because I really want to hug you.”

“Always,” Jason said.

Piper pulled him to his feet and wrapped her arms around him. Jason awkwardly returned the hug and patted her back.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “For telling me. But I don’t blame you. What kind of a daughter of Aphrodite would I be for blaming you for loving someone? And I’m the one who should be sorry for leading you on. I guess I figured that if you had wanted something, you would have said, but you didn’t and I didn’t, so…” She sniffed and cleared her throat as she pulled back.

“Still friends?” Jason asked hopefully.

“ _ Best  _ friends,” Piper said. “What are you doing this year if you’re not going with the Romans?”

“Staying here,” Jason shrugged. “I was going to talk to Percy later about getting enrolled at his high school. I think it would be nice to go to a nice normal, mortal school for once. Besides, Nico said Leo will be back in January. I want to be close when that happens. I’ve also been banned from California because of the whole dying thing.”

“Right,” Piper nodded. “The emperors. I guess we should get ready for another fight.”

“Guess so,” Jason said. He turned to walk to the door and then paused. “Thanks. For listening.”

“Thanks for telling me,” Piper said. “I mean it though. I want you to find a really great girl that deserves you. Because, Jason, you are so amazing and kind and you deserve a lot better than what I gave you.”

Jason flashed her a smile. “See you around, Piper.”

“See you around.”

Once Jason was out the door, Piper sat back on her bed. She buried her face in her pillow and started sobbing.

When Silena came in a few minutes later, neither girl said anything. Silena rubbed Piper’s back and held her as Piper continued to cry.

“Are you okay?” Silena asked after a few minutes.

Piper wiped away her tears. “I… I don’t know. It’s been… I lost my emotions and then I got them back and everything happened with… with Leo and now… I just need time to think.” She stood up. “I’m going to go help with clean up and everything. I need something to take my mind off everything.”

* * *

At the end of the day, Piper was exhausted. She’d helped Reyna and Annabeth coordinate between the Greeks and Romans. She’s also kept a fight from breaking out between the children of Mars and the children of Ares over the best way to kill a hydra. She’d placated the naiads. And she had a conversation with Reyna about something Venus had said.

Piper liked Reyna. She was a nice person, and she cared deeply about her legion, her family. She was the last person Piper wanted her mom to mess with. Unfortunately, it seemed like Piper’s mom already made a significant impact on Reyna already.

Piper lay in her bed, mind racing with thoughts. She should have been relieved and eager to sleep after so long on the  _ Argo II _ without sleep, but she just couldn’t make herself fall asleep. It was almost like she was back to her emotionless, soulless self that didn’t need sleep.

Around two in the morning, she gave up trying to sleep. She sat up in bed and gazed out of the window. Moonlight turned the woods silver. The smells of the sea and the strawberry fields wafted on the breeze. She couldn’t believe that just a few days ago the Earth Mother had awoken and almost destroyed everything Piper held dear. Tonight seemed so peaceful… so normal.

Someone grabbed her arm.

Piper’s heart pounded as she turned to attack and saw Drew.

“Come on, McLean,” Drew muttered, dragging her into the bathroom.

Had it been any other bathroom, Piper would have questioned whether this was Drew or not when the other girl sat down on the floor and gestured for Piper to sit opposite her. But the Aphrodite bathroom was probably clean enough to eat a whole meal off of the floor.

Piper sat across from Drew. Drew picked up Piper’s hand and started painting her fingernails with a pretty pink.

“What’s going on?” Drew asked, focusing on the nail polish.

“What do you mean?”

“You haven’t slept in days. Sometimes you seem okay with what di Angelo said about Valdez surviving. Other times you look like you want to burst into tears. So spill.”

Piper stared at Drew in surprise. “You hate me.”

“I don’t hate you,” Drew said. “You just… don’t appreciate the finer things in life. Like fashionable clothes. And designer labels. Makeup.”

Piper deflated. “Not my thing.”

“I know. But something’s wrong and you’re going to tell me.” Drew finished one of Piper’s nails. “Back when I first got to Camp, I… Silena pulled me into the bathroom for nails and a chat. I came to Camp with another girl. I don’t remember her name. But just as we were almost to Half-Blood Hill, we were surrounded by dracaena. I survived. She didn’t. It messed me up for a while. Bathroom Talks helped me.”

Piper didn’t say anything for a while. “On the quest we ran into two of the Erotes. Anteros and Himeros. Anteros shot me with a lead arrow. I was a mess for the whole home stretch of the quest. I couldn’t feel emotions and there was no way to counter the arrow unless someone performed an act of true, selfless love for me. Apparently—” her voice cracked “—that act was Leo’s sacrifice. I know what Nico’s said, but I can’t help thinking that it’s my fault Leo had to do that. Maybe if I had my emotions I could have seen something was going on and we could have fixed it.”

Drew took it all in. By the time she started speaking, she had finished Piper’s left hand. “It wasn’t your fault. And it’s no use blaming yourself. Is that going to change the past?”

Piper barely held in a snort. “No.”

“Is that going to fix things?”

“No.”

“Is that going to make  _ you  _ feel really crappy all the time?”

Piper cracked a smile. “Yes.”

“Exactly,” Drew said. She painted another nail. “Now. Leo Valdez is going to come back with his super hot Titan girlfriend, right? We’re daughters of Aphrodite, so let’s try and be supportive of his romantic endeavors?”

“Romantic endeavors…” Piper sighed. “Jason told me something today. He said the reason Anteros shot me with the lead arrow was because—”

“He’s in love with you,” Drew said. “Jason, I mean.”

Piper stared at her. “Yeah. How did you know?”

“Oh, hon, it’s obvious to anyone with eyes,” Drew said matter-of-factly. “Lingering looks, standing close to you whenever he can, the way his face lights up when he’s with you… I could go on for hours.”

“Did everyone know before me?” Piper asked.

“I doubt Percy Jackson knew,” Drew said. “I mean, he wasn’t even here with you two. And those two Romans, Frank and Hazel. I wasn’t on the ship though so I can’t account for that.”

Piper’s heart sank. “No. I’m pretty sure Percy knew too.”

How could Percy not know? He was from the future. A future where Piper and Jason had definitely been together for a while. Where it hadn’t worked out between them. The future Annabeth had cautioned Piper about all those months ago when it was Piper’s first day at Camp Half-Blood and her biggest worry was how she was going to save her father without betraying her new friends.

“Like I said, it was obvious.” Drew shrugged. “Do  _ you  _ love him?”

“Not the way he wants me to,” Piper whispered. “I love him as a friend, but that’s all.”

Drew painted the last nail. “Jason’s a gentleman. He respects you enough to know that you belong with someone else, whoever that is. And you respect him equally. You'll still come out of this friends. It might be awkward in the beginning, but… that’ll fade. He’ll meet someone, you’ll meet someone…”

“Yeah,” Piper said, shaking her head fondly. She stared at Drew. “Why didn’t we start like this? I never wanted to be your enemy.”

Drew screwed the cap back on the nail polish bottle. “You remind me of someone at school. She’s sarcastic, rebellious, mischievous, headstrong.” She scowled.

“I’m not like that at all,” Piper said.

“You’re rebellious,” Drew said. She leaned back against the wall. “I guess it’s not exactly an excuse, but I wasn’t in a great place after the Titan war. Silena and I are on better terms now, but… I’m still trying to recover.” She took a shuddering breath. “I guess when you’re a demigod and life gets hard, it’s easier to block yourself off and put on a tough, mean girl act because if no one likes you enough to get close… you can’t get attached to someone that will hurt you. Death, betrayal, walking away.”

“Sounds lonely,” Piper said.

“It is,” Drew whispered. “I want out, Piper. I don’t want this life.”

“Will you go to New Rome then? I know Percy and Annabeth are planning on that.”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Drew tapped her nails against the tile flooring. “Do you think you’ll do that? Eventually?”

Piper thought for a moment. “No. Doubtful. I think… I think I’d like to go back to Oklahoma for a while. Visit family. After that… I don’t know. I guess I'll figure that out when I get there.” She cast a sly look at Drew. “So. How much do you owe Bianca di Angelo?”

Drew rolled her eyes. “Gods, I can’t believe they actually got together. All these years of pining and flirting… I hope they  _ stay  _ together after all they put us through.”

“Never thought I’d hear Drew Tanaka say those words,” Piper teased.

“First time for everything,” Drew said.

“Start over?” Piper offered. “Be more sisterly?”

Drew gave her a small smile. “Yeah. Start over.”

Piper held out her hand.

“I’m not shaking your hand,” Drew said flatly. “Do you know how hard I worked on that manicure? It’s beautiful and you won’t mess it up.”

Piper stared at her for a long time. Then she burst out laughing. After a while, Drew joined in.

_ Here’s to second chances,  _ Piper thought.

She didn’t know what was in store for the future. She didn’t even know where she’d be in a year, but one thing Piper knew for sure was that the future was going to be better. She was going to make damn sure of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I didn't really change much here. I loved my Piper and Drew conversation too much to summarize or shorten it.
> 
> Apologies for the late update. I hadn't quite gotten chapters 12 and 13 and 14 done so I spent a few hours doing that and didn't finish until later than I thought I would have. Otherwise I would have updated what I DID have and then update 12, 13, and 14 once I finished them.


End file.
